Heart of a Lioness
by GreenGenin
Summary: Hinata is sent away to train in the Village Hidden in the Sand. Will she have the strength to prove that she has a heart of a lioness...even if it means standing up to a demon?HG
1. Chapter 1 : Goodbye

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters. _(Although I wouldn't mind owning Gaara… hee… hee)_

A/N: ((…)) means thought

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 1: Good-bye

The sun was setting in Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Hinata looked across the landscape. The sky was painted in an array of pinks and oranges. Off in the distance she could see the giant portraits of the four great Hokage peering out of the massive rock cliffs that encircled the village. Shadows moved across their faces as the sun began to sink deeper into the earth, creating deep creases in their expressions. To Hinata they seem to be frowning at her, as if even they too knew what a failure she had become.

Hinata bit the bottom of her lip and tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks. She could still hear her father's cold words echoing through her mind and piercing her heart.

…_Flashback…_

Hiashi Hyuga stood on the balcony of the Hyuga mansion, staring at the pools of stars that spread across the night sky. As usual his posture was stiff and his expression grim. Hinata gazed at her father's back, wondering why he had summoned her to his quarters. She stood rigidly, trying not to fidget too much or else revealing her nervous state.

Father had never called her to his quarters before; in fact he hardly acknowledged her very existence. She knew what he thought of her, the whole family did. She was nothing but a weakling in his eyes, a poor heir to the great Hyuga clan. She couldn't stand the look of disappointment in his eyes whenever he glanced in her direction. No mattered how hard she tried nothing ever seemed to be good enough for him… she would never be good enough.

Hinata took a deep breath and waited quietly for her father to speak. She'd been standing there for quite some time and her feet were beginning to ache. She wondered if he'd forgotten she was there.

"Hinata. You're probably wondering why I have summoned you."

Her father's words cut through the air like daggers, causing her to jump.

"U-um…yes, sir."

Despite her attempt to stay calm she began to fidget in place. Hinata was thankful that her father was still turned away from her so that he couldn't see her loss of nerve.

Oblivious to his daughter's anxiety he continued. "I feel that your time spent in Konoha has been utterly useless for your training and for that I have decided to send you abroad."

Hinata's heart lunged in her chest. She stared at her father in shock as the color in her face drained away.

_((He was sending her away? Away from Konoha, the only place she had ever known!))_

"F-father, but… but why?"

Her father turned and fixed her with a steely glare. "I was hoping that with your training under Master Kurenai you might have improved your skills as a ninja, but I'm afraid I was sorely mistaken. I have now realized that the schools and instructors here in the Hidden Leaf are to soft by letting their pity get in the way of real progress."

Hinata stared at her father in shock as the realization hit her.

_((So it was true… they really do pity me. Master Kurenai, Kiba, Shino… all thought of her weak but were too kind to say anything.)) _She remembered the look of regret in Kiba's and Shino's eyes when they trained together and Master Kurenai's expressions of sympathy whenever she failed a mission. Kiba and Shino would always run ahead of the danger while making her stay behind in Master Kurenai's protection…

Hinata bent her head and tried to prevent the tears that where now forming in the corner of her eyes.

Hiashi frowned at his daughter's display of emotion. He turned around to face the night sky as the feeling of disgust began to fill his stomach. "I am sending you to the Land of the Wind. You will be trained in the Village Hidden in the Sand by instructors who don't subside to frivolous emotions such as _pity_ and are not so lenient when they come across ineffectual students. Hopefully there you might make something of yourself." He looked at his daughter, his silvery eyes piercing into her own. "You will be leaving tomorrow night. I have arranged for you to travel with a merchant caravan who will take you into the Land of the Wind and to the Village Hidden in the Sand. Pack light; you will be traveling on foot. Once you've arrived at your destination you will situate yourself at the Suna Ninja Academy and begin your training as a proper ninja." He gave his daughter one last look before turning around. "That is all."

Hinata silently bowed and fled her father's quarters. Her heart felt as though it had turned to stone and sunk to the bottom of her chest. Everything she had ever known, everything that was familiar to would be lost to her forever. Tears welded up her eyes, blurring her vision. She sucked back her sobs as she roamed through the halls of the Hyuga mansion.

Her mind was so distraught that she didn't realize there was a small figure walking towards her until she was but a few feet from her. Hinata glanced up to find her sister Hanabi staring at her at the other end of the hall. Hanabi was wearing her training garb and looked as though she had just returned from the sparring grounds. Although her hair and cloths were disheveled she didn't look exhausted at all. Instead, she stared at Hinata with an indifferent expression on her face.

Hinata quickly looked away from her sister, weary of the intense predatorily light that shown through her eyes. Hanabi and Hinata were once close, but when Hanabi began her training as a ninja her attitude towards Hinata began to change. She began to look at her sister not as a friend but as a competitor. It wasn't much sooner before Hanabi realized she could surpass Hinata in her ninja skills and found her sister to be incompetent and unworthy of the Hyuga clan.

Hinata quickened her pace and passed Hanabi without saying a word. She went straight to her room and collapsed onto her sleeping pallet where she stared at the ceiling and felt nothing but emptiness.

… _End Flashback…_

Hinata wiped the remaining tears off her face with her sleeve. The sky was starting to get dark; she would have to leave soon. She looked across the landscape one last time, trying to burn the image into her memory.

Her father had already taken it upon himself to inform Master Kurenai of her departure. Despite Master Kurenai, Kiba and Shino's words of objection she knew that although they might miss her they really didn't need her. Her Byakugan technique came in handy from time to time but she knew deep down that she was holding them back. Kiba and Shino deserved so much more. Not only because they were her teammates but also because they were the closest things to friends she'd ever had.

Hinata sighed as she noticed the first few stars breaking out of the darkening sky. There were many things she was going to miss about this place, but most of all she was going to miss _him_. Her heart skipped a beat when an image of the young rebellious blond ninja popped into her head.

_((Naruto…)) _

Hinata clasped her hands together tightly.

_((I have to see him before I go. I… I have to let him know how I feel.))_

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

_((Okay, this is it. My last chance to say good-bye.))_

Hinata made her way towards the academy's training grounds, hoping to find Naruto in his usual spots where he liked to practices his ninjutsu. But he wasn't anywhere to be found. She began to sweep through the village, searching for the orange clad ninja.

She looked up anxiously at the sky. The darkness was increasing and her time was running short. What if she couldn't find him in time? Her panic started to build as she frantically ran through the village.

"Tell us again boss! You're the greatest!"

"Ha! You got that right. One day you'll refer to me as the Great Hokage!"

Hinata froze as she turned a corner. She could recognize that laugh from anywhere. She looked over to her left and spotted him sitting at a ramen booth with three little kids. All three of them were listening intently to Naruto as he told them one of his heroic tales of his life as a ninja.

Hinata peered at him from the shadowy street. The overhead lights of the ramen shop reflected off his golden hair and orange jump suit, making him appear as if he was glowing. She felt as though they were two creatures of different worlds. Her pale moon eyes and rich midnight hair belonged to that of the somber night while his radiant inner light that shown through his sky blue eyes claimed him to the energetic day.

She stood there and watched him, the one she admired the most. How she longed to be like him, to have his strength, bravery and will to never give up. She closed her eyes and tried to take hold of her fear.

_((I can do this...))_

Slowly she crept from the shadows into the light of the ramen shop.

"N-Naruto?"

Her voice barely came out in a whisper. Naruto continued telling how he manhandled 20 ninja at once, completely oblivious to Hinata's presence. Hinata gulped and tried again.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?" Naruto looked up. "Oh. Hi Hinata. Didn't see you there." He flashed her a wide grin.

Hinata smiled shyly in return.

"Um… N-Naruto… I… I just want to say that … I want to tell you that I…" Hinata's words got caught in her throat. Her face began to turn red when she noticed that everyone was staring at her.

Naruto looked puzzled. "Huh? What was that Hinata? Didn't catch it."

Hinata looked down at her feet and began to fidget with her fingers. "W-Well… I wanted to tell y-you that I… that I like…y-"

"Hey Naruto!"

Everyone at the ramen booth turned their attention towards the outside. Sakura was waving at them from across the street. Naruto immediately perked up as he spotted the pink haired ninja.

"Hi Sakura, what's up?"

"Master Kakashi sent me to find you. We have a new mission and he wants us to meet him and Sasuke at the bridge."

"What! A new mission? I'm ready for anything!" He leapt from his set and ran after Sakura.

"Alright boss!" the three kids cheered, running after their idol.

"Naruto?" Hinata called after him.

Naruto looked over his shoulder. "See ya, Hinata," he called as he ran down the street.

Hinata stood in the silence as she watched him disappear around a corner. She looked up at the sky. The moon was now high above her, spreading a soft light over the village.

Her time was up.

She took one last glance in the direction Naruto fled before she retreated to the somber shadows of the night.

((_Good-bye, Naruto…))_

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2 : Challenges

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any of the Naruto characters.

_((…))_ means thought

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 2: Challenges

Hinata stared out of her bedroom window at the moonlit desert. Shadows drifted across the pale sand, from one shaded hollow to the next clump of dry brush. Almost she could pretend the shadows had direction, intention. It was a game she had developed as she traveled to the Village Hidden in the Sand, a way to distract her from the feeling of homesickness.

She had insomnia badly when she first arrived. It had never occurred to her that she would not be able to sleep without the sound of the wind through the trees outside her window as it had at the Hyuga estate. The sound of the ceaseless desert air kept her awake night after night. There was something about it too like speech, not at all like the comfortable murmur of leaves. But most of her insomnia had died away in the first few weeks here. The Suna Academy made sure of that.

Hinata groaned as she stretched and flexed her arms and legs that were tight and knotted from the previous day's training. The academy here was nothing like the academy of the Hidden Leaf. Most of the classes were held out on the training grounds under the grueling desert sun where the instructors worked them from dawn to dusk. Since her arrival, Hinata's life had been a total nightmare. Alone in a strange land she fought to adjust to the intense weather while trying to perform complicated drills under the watchful eyes of extremely strict instructors. Many nights she'd return to her small apartment feeling as if she might die from her exhaustion.

She sighed as she noticed the first few rays of sunlight piercing over the sandy dunes. Although she wasn't looking forward to the hard day that lay ahead she did enjoy some of the hidden beauties of the desert. She watched in awe as the morning sun pierced the lavender sky with an orchestra of deep red hues and then softened into the desert's greenish-bronze tinted sky. Despite the village's barren surroundings and isolated location there were a few hidden secrets to the land that one would find hard not to fall in love with.

She turned away from the window and began pulling on her ninja gear. Butterflies already began forming in her stomach. Despite her recent improvements with her speed and agility her efforts still didn't measure up to the other sand genin in her class. True to her father's word the instructors here did not look kindly on weakness. She was punished for her mistakes and quickly fell to the bottom of her class. The other students often sneered and scoffed at her lack of ability.

The back of her eyes began to sting as she fought back the tears that threaten to creep out. Why was it always she to be the weakest? It was as if her old life had followed her from Konoha like a haunting ghost.

Was it her destiny to be a failure?

Frustrated, Hinata grabbed her kunai knives and fastened them to her belt. Suddenly she let out a cry as one of them slipped out of its sheath and grazed her hand as it fell to the ground. She stared at her hand and watched as a thin line of blood trickled down her palm. Slowly she curled her hand into a fist, biting against the pain.

_((No…I am not that person any more. I will become stronger… even if…))_

She looked down at her Hidden Leaf headband on her bed. She picked it up and tied it around her neck.

_((...Even if it kills me.))_

* * *

The Sand Academy was located on the far side of the village. It was surrounded by wide masses of barren desert land, which were converted into practicing grounds for the local genin and chuunin. To the side of the academy sat a large domed arena, which was often used for major competitions between the advance ninja. Massive sandstone boulders and deep sandy trenches stretched across the arena's interior, replicating the harsh terrain that existed outside the village walls.

Hinata sat in the spectators stand with five other genin waiting for their instructor. She glanced around the arena as the feeling of dread filling up inside her. Usually her class would practice drills out in the sparring grounds during the morning and then later focus on their genjutsu skills. But today their instructor instructed them to meet in the arena.

She looked around at the other occupants scattered across the stands. A few instructors and chuunin had come to watch along with a couple of the advanced genin, all there for some leisure entertainment. Hinata clung to the bench beneath her until her knuckles began to turn white. As if it wasn't bad enough to train in the arena, which was hazardous and full of traps but to also have an audience as well? It was almost unbearable.

Suddenly in a burst of smoke their instructor appeared before them. He was a large man with large red stripes tattooed across the right side of his face while his left was concealed with a white sash. He was one of the strictest teachers in the sand academy and one who prided in his own reputation.

Master Baki glared at his students as they stood in attention.

"As you might have noticed we are not following our usual regiment for the day," he announced as his students stared back at him in silence. "Instead you will be participating in a series of matches against one another. The outcome of these matches will determine whether you are destined to continue down the path of the shinobi or your immediate expulsion from the program. The sand academy will not waste its time teaching hopeless cases."

Master Baki paused as a hushed mummer rose from the genin.

"For those of you who are lucky enough to pass you will be assigned to one of our elite squads. If you fail you will be dropped from the program permanently." A cruel sneer spread across his face. "Think of this as a make it or break it drill. Only the strong will have a future in the sand academy, that is our nindou."

_((Failures will be dropped permanently?!))_ Hinata glanced at the other five genin. She could feel the tension building between them; already they were sizing one another up, determining who were the weakest of the group. A few looked over at her and smirked. Hinata quickly looked away and forced her attention on the battleground before her. _((I am not going to let them get to me. I can do this…)) _

"Listen up!" snapped Master Baki. "I'm about to name off your opponents. Once it is your turn proceed to the center of the arena and wait for my signal to begin. All standard forms of jutsu and weapons are allowed. When you have completed your match you are excused for the day. Alright, here are your competitors: Yin vs. Gomei, Zhen vs. Ping, and Hyuga vs. Tao…"

Hinata shuddered. Lin Tao was the largest genin in her class, not to mention the most ruthless fighter she had ever seen. He enjoyed inflicting pain and instilling fear in others, as if it was some sort of sick game to him. During basic training he would often attack his opponent to the extent were an instructor would have to intervene before the situation turned deadly.

Hinata continued to stare out at her future battlefield. She could feel Lin looking in her direction but she wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing the fear reflected in her eyes.

Lin Tao looked across the line of genin until he spotted the new rookie from the Hidden Leaf. He smirked when he noticed that her shoulders were slightly shaking. _((Humph! What a joke and I was hoping for some sort of challenge...Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make this interesting for myself.))_

Master Baki moved to the center of the arena. "Alright, let's begin. Yin, Gomei, take your places, the rest of you sit tight till it's your turn."

Hinata sat on the far side of the bench, away from the other students. Absently she traced the carved Hidden Leaf emblem around her neck. The cool metal under her fingers helped sooth her nerves.

Baki had already sounded the signal and the first match had begun. Hinata watched as both fighters attacked one another with full force, both directing their energy towards various taijutsu techniques. Yin being the larger of the two had the upper hand in strength but Gomei was faster. She darted back and forth keeping Yin off balance. Yin charged at Gomei, throwing his shuriken aggressively, hoping to catch her off guard. But Gomei saw an opening and took it. Clinging to her kunai knife Gomei ducked under Yin's shuriken and lunge into Yin's abdomen with all her strength, sending Yin flying backwards with Gomei's weapon embedded in his side. Yin tried to recover but couldn't. He staggered and doubled over, holding his stomach as blood began to seep through his wound. He stayed on the ground and began to cough up blood.

Master Baki appeared in the middle of the field. "I declare Gomei the winner of this match. Next opponents take your places."

Hinata gulped down the knot that began to rise in her throat. One down, one to go then she will be next. She glanced over at Lin who was sitting on the edge of his seat. The look of blood lust in his eyes sent a shiver up Hinata's she looked away, fearing that she might lose her nerve all together. To distract herself she began to look around the stands at the other spectators watching the fight. Other than a few teachers and jounin, most were upper level geinin, getting a glimpse at the new rookies in action. At one corner of the stands Hinata noticed a group of girls chattering amongst themselves. One of them carried a large metal fan strapped to her back.

_((She must be one of those elite genin))_

Hinata had heard a rumor that some of the elite ninja had the ability to control the wind, a feat that took an extraordinary amount of chakra. She could tell that the girl was powerful, just by the way she held herself, and the girl's aura seeped of confidence. Hinata silently hoped that she would never have to cross paths with that particular girl.

Suddenly a cry from the arena caught Hinata's attention. Zhen had surprised Ping with a substitution jutsu and was now attacking him with clones. Ping was caught off guard and didn't have time to recover from his mistake. The clones attacked him one by one until Ping was reduced to nothing more than a heaping mass on the ground.

Master Baki entered the field and declared Zhen the winner.

Hinata was shaking from head to toe. She felt as if everything began to move in slow motion. Her chest felt tight, making it difficult for her to take deep breaths. She closed her eyes to try to steady herself.

_((This is it. It's now or never.))_

"Hinata Hyuga and Lin Tao take your places," Baki yelled from the field.

Hinata and Lin made their way to the center of the arena and stood across from one another. Hinata tried to take in her surroundings. Giant clumps of sand stone enabled her to see the entire field clearly, which held to her disadvantage. Although the sandstone could be used in her favor for better coverage she was still vulnerable to hidden ambushes. She could always use her Byakugan but that wouldn't make any difference if he was faster or stronger she still wouldn't be able to stop him.

Master Baki stood in between them. "You know the rules. All standard jutsus and weapons are allowed. Once one of your opponent is down you _must_ cease your attack," Baki shot Lin a piercing look. "You will begin on my mark. Ready…"

Hinata raised her arms out in front of her in the Hyuga style, her best form of taijutsu. Lin stood back with his arms crossed over his chest, his face wearing a mocking expression. Some of the other genin from the stands began to chuckle, all eagerly waiting to see the class rookie get pumbled by the class bully.

Hinata gritted her teeth. _((Don't let them get to you… just stay calm.))_

Master Baki raised his hand in the air. "You may begin!"

Suddenly in a flash of speed Lin was gone.

Hinata blinked. _((What! Where did he go?))_

"Looking for me?"

Hinata froze. Lin was standing right behind her. She quickly ducked and swung out her leg behind her, hoping to catch him off guard. But Lin anticipated her move and leapt into the air. Suddenly Hinata felt a burst of pain on the side of her face as Lin's foot connected with her head, sending her spiraling across the ground.

Head throbbing, Hinata quickly picked herself up. When she looked up Lin had disappeared again.

_((He's playing with me! Like a cruel game of cat and mouse he is planning weaken me with numerous ambushes until I give in!))_

Hinata angrily got up and began to run across the battlefield.

_((I am not going to play his game! I'm going to draw him out and we're going to do this thing right, ninja vs. ninja not predator vs. prey…))_

"Ha! Where do you think your going?" Lin's voice called out from behind an outcrop of boulders. A shuriken whizzed past her ear, missing her by centimeters. Hinata quickly darted to the left and pressed her back against a boulder, drawing her kunai knife and held it out in front of her.

She looked out across the terrain, which was very still and desolate. Suddenly something moved out of the corner of her eye. She quickly ducked and leapt to the right as four more shuriken flew through the air and struck the spot she had just been.

Hinata quickly straightened up and began to run towards another boulder for coverage. But as she was about to reach the next outcrop something caught her foot, causing her to fly forward and land on the hard packed earth. She looked back and saw a thin silvery line entangling her foot.

_((Ninja wire! It's a trap!))_

Suddenly a shadow loomed over her. She quickly looked up and saw a massive figure coming down on her fast. Hinata rolled onto her back and held out her kunai knife. Lin's kunai met hers as he forced his weight into his attack, pinning Hinata to the ground. Hinata grabbed onto her knife with both hands and pushed up as Lin's knife inched closer to her neck.

Hinata gasped for breath as she struggled to gain control. She looked up at Lin who wore a sadistic grin on his face. An insane light appeared in his eyes, something inside of him wasn't right. Hinata had to do something fast before he actually killed her!

_((No… I'm not going to let it end this way…))_

Hinata released one of her hands and pressed it against Lin's chest.

_((NOW!))_

She focused her chakra into her hand. Lin let out a cry as her chakra exploded through his chest. He fell back as Hinata scrambled out from under him. She stood up and faced Lin with her hands held up in front of her.

Lin didn't move from the ground. Hinata could see a thin stream of blood seeping out from the corner of his mouth. After a moment passed Hinata began to grow anxious.

_((Did I…did I kill him?)) _She edged over towards him and peered at his pale face.

Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her ankle. Hinata shrieked and tried to yank her foot free.

Lin stared up at her with rage etched in his face. "You should know that true ninja never let their guard down…"

Hinata gasped and struggled harder. "Let go!" she cried, pulling her leg with all her might. Lin laughed, tightened his grip and slowly got to his feet, pulling her ankle with him.

Trying to balance on the other foot, she struggled desperately to free herself from Lin's grip. She was scared out of her wits. No one had ever scared her so much before. But then her fear began to switch over to anger. How dare he cause her to be so scared? He had no right!

"I…I said let go of me."

Lin sneered. "Ha! What's a little wimp like you going to do about it?"

"This!" Hinata abruptly hopped up, smashing Lin's jaw with her free foot. He let go of her other foot as she leapt back away from him. Lin yelled in pain and rage. He sailed at Hinata, punching and kicking for all he was worth. Although she was able to block quiet a few of his blows, many of them connected, it was easy to see that Lin was still stronger and faster than she was. She did manage to get a few punches in, but they were nothing compared to what he was dishing out. Finally she saw a good opening on his right side and went for it. But she missed and left her entire midsection open in the process. Lin slammed an uppercut into her stomach and she went flying backwards. She landed with a thud about ten feet away. As she tried to refill her lungs with air Lin pulled something from his pocket.

Hinata's vision was slightly blurry but she could still make out the thin piece of parchment he held in his hand. Her eyes widened in shock. _((He-he's going to through an exploding tag on me!))_

"LIN STOP!" Master Baki screamed from the stands. But it was too late. Lin attached the tag to one of his kunai knives and flung it at Hinata.

Hinata's heart pounded violently in her chest. It was coming to fast, she couldn't block it! She threw up her arms and braced herself for the impact.

Suddenly a burst of wind erupted in front of her. She looked up too see Master Baki standing before her, the paper tag crushed under his foot.

"Exploding tags are illegal weapons Lin! You know that! For your impudence I have no choice but to disqualify you and declare Hinata the winner."

Lin stared at his instructor in disbelief. "WHAT! That's not fair Master Baki! You can't let a weakling like her surpass me!"

Baki crossed his arms. "Those are the rules Lin. You break them, you suffer the consequences."

Lin screamed in rage and charged at Hinata, the look of murder shining in his eyes. But Master Baki quickly intervened. With fast reflexes he appeared before Lin and pinched a pressure point in his neck, immediately knocking him unconscious. Baki turned towards Hinata who was still on the floor staring wide-eyed as the scene in front of her. "You are to report to room A-11 tomorrow at dawn where you will be assigned to an elite squad. Don't be late. You are dismissed." He heaved Lin's limp body onto his shoulder and disappeared in a burst of smoke.

Up in the stands a girl elbowed her friend. "Hey Temari? What do you think of that last one? She's got spunk."

Temari watched as the dark haired girl shakily got to her feet and retreated from the arena. At first this girl seemed like a total wimp but as the fight progressed she noticed fierceness in the girl she didn't expect.

_((The girl has spunk, no doubt about that. But does she have the guts to stick it out as a ninja? She might be one to keep an eye on…))_

End of Chapter 2

A/N: Next week's chapter: Demon in my View


	3. Chapter 3 : Demon in my View

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters.

_((…))_ means thought

Heart of the Lioness

Chapter 3: Demon in my View

The warm desert breeze blew against Hinata's back as she left the arena. She made her way down the winding streets and through the market district. Merchants and traders called out to her from their stands, inviting her to look at their goods, but Hinata's mind was on other matters.

She should be happy; she won the match and would be continuing down the path of the shinobi. But instead her victory didn't feel like a victory at all. In the end Master Baki had to step in and _save_ her. She frowned as she thought back on the match. She had frozen like a scared rabbit while someone had to run in and rescue her. A shiver ran up her spine as she thought about the look of pure rage in Lin's eyes before he was knocked unconscious. A little voice inside her told her that that might not be the last time she saw the likes of him and next time Master Baki might not be there to intervene.

_((How can I call myself a shinobi if I have to be rescued all the time? One of the shinobi's jobs is to protect others. How can I protect others if I cannot even protect myself?))_

She looked up at the sky and noticed that evening was approaching fast. Shop owners began to close up their stands as the evening crowd started to thin out. As most of the shoppers began to return to their homes, Hinata figured she should do the same.

She made her way out of the market district and began to head towards the residential area. Suddenly, she stopped when a small sound caught her attention. It sounded as if someone was crying. She followed the sound until she spotted a small boy sitting on the far side of the street. He looked to be about seven or eight years old. He held onto his arm as though it had been wounded.

_((That's odd. Why is he sitting out here all by himself?))_

As the boy began to wail louder Hinata felt a sting of pity pull at her heart. She cautiously approached the boy.

"Um… hi there. Are you okay?"

The boy looked up at Hinata. He studied her face and then quickly glanced at the ninja band that hung from her neck.

Hinata kneeled down in front of him. "Here, let me see it." She smiled politely as she held her hand out to him. When Hinata got closer to the boy's face something caught her attention. Judging by his sound of his wailing the boy should have been crying, but his face was completely dry. In fact upon closer inspection he didn't look hurt at all, not a scratch on him.

Suddenly, before Hinata could react, the boy jumped up, yanked her Hidden Leaf band from her neck and took off running down the street.

"Hey!" Hinata cried. She quickly got up and ran after him. "Hey stop!"

The little thief ran into a crowded street, dodging between pedestrians before quickly turning into an alleyway. Hinata ran after him, shouting apologies to people as she tried to push her way through the crowd. The battle she had with Lin left her weak and sore, making it difficult to pursue the agile kid. But despite her fatigue she followed him into the alley, jumping over fallen dumpsters and maneuvering through clumps of scattered debris, determined to get back her headband. Ahead of them Hinata could see a large wall blocking the end of the alley. The little kid ran ahead and stopped when he reached the wall. He looked back and stuck his tongue out at her then quickly scurried through a small hole at the base of the wall.

Hinata fumed. _((Why that little…))_

She skidded to a halt when she reached the wall. The hole was small, too small for her to get through.

_((I can't let him get away!))_

She looked up at the wall. It was pretty high, reaching as high as the building's roof. She gritted her teeth in frustration.

_((Well, I just have to find another way. It's risky but it's the only choice I have.))_

Quickly she preformed a variety of hand signs and focused her chakra towards the soles of her feet. It was one of the techniques she had studied in Konoha, an ability the instructors often used to teach genin how to maintain their chakra control by climbing trees without using their hands. Naturally, Shino and Kiba were excellent at it but Hinata would often find herself falling head first towards the ground. At times Kiba and Shino would station themselves under her tree, ready to catch her just in case she fell too far and seriously hurt herself.

Hinata blushed at her embarrassing memory. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down.

_((Focus and breath…))_

She took a few steps back and then charged at the wall. She increased her chakra as her foot connected with the wall. She lunged her body upwards and ran up the wall in a full 90-degree angle.

_((Keep focusing!))_

The muscles in her legs screamed in pain as the weight of gravity began to pull her down, but she continued to run, biting against the pain. Determined not to lose control she didn't slow down until she reached the very top. She quickly reached out and grabbed the edge of the wall as her feet slipped out from under her. Steadily she heaved herself up onto the ledge.

Hinata sat on top of the wall, pride filling in her chest. She was exhausted but happy that she made it. _((Now for phase two...)) _She held her arms out in front of her and performed a sequence of hand signs.

_((Byakugan!))_

She looked down before her, examining the streets below. Her special technique allowed her to see through solid objects both near and far, nothing could escape the powerful perception of the Byakugan eye. It wasn't long before she spotted the kid hiding a block away on a deserted street.

_((Oh no you don't…))_

She leapt from the wall and ran across the building's roof.

The boy crouched behind a dumpster. He peeked out behind him to see if she had followed. To his relief she was nowhere to be seen. He sighed as he leaned back and pulled the headband from his pocket, studying his stolen loot. Suddenly something landed in front of him. To his utter shock she stood before him, looking sternly down at him.

Hinata held out her hand. "That belongs to me."

The boy cried out in surprise and quickly made a break for it. He dashed around the dumpster, desperately trying to gain distance between him and his pursuer.

Hinata was hot on his tracks. She raced after him as she turned the corner but suddenly skidded to a halt, nearly falling flat on her face. Before her stood a large figure dressed entirely in black. His face was covered with intricately designed purple and black patterns. He carried a large wrapped bundle, which hung off his back. Hinata blinked in surprise at the odd looking boy.

The little thief who was too preoccupied with his escape collided right into him.

"Oww!! Why you little…" the tattooed boy picked the kid up by his shirt. "That hurt you little punk!" he shook the kid, causing him to drop the headband onto the ground.

The larger boy looked down at it and smirked. "Well, well, well. So it looks like I have a little rogue ninja on my hands." The kid struggled in his grip, desperately trying to free himself from his captor. The larger boy only grinned wider. "Well, there's only one thing to do with a trouble maker like you." He pulled back his free arm and balled his hand up into a fist.

"Wait!"

Both boys looked up at Hinata who stood a few feet away. She cautiously took a step forward. "Please…don't hurt him. H-he's just a kid. The headband belongs to me. Thank you for stopping him for me but please… don't hurt him."

The boy gazed back at Hinata but didn't withdraw his arm. A crocked smile spread across his face. "Hmph! You're not much of a ninja if you'd let a little urchin like this steal from you. If you won't teach him a lesson then I will!"

To Hinata's horror the boy pulled back his arm and swung at the kid's head. Without thinking she rushed forward and grabbed onto his arm, stopping his attack in mid swing. He looked down in shock at Hinata who had a tight grip on his arm. Hinata stared back at him, surprised at her own reaction. After a moment or two the realization of what she had just done began to sink in. She must be crazy! This boy was twice her size and could probably snap her in two!

An angry expression crossed over his face. He shoved Hinata back with his free arm, causing her to stumble back and falling on her rear. He dropped his captive on the ground advanced towards Hinata. The little kid took advantage at his captor's distraction and quickly fled down the street.

Hinata watched him disappear around the corner silently wishing she were anywhere but here.

The large boy stood in front of Hinata, his shadow engulfing her. "Well then… if you're so eager on being a hero then I guess I'll just have to teach you the lesson instead." He pulled the wrapped bundle from his back and slammed it to the ground with one hand. The impact made Hinata's heart leap into her throat. She eyed the object nervously, frantically trying to find a way out of this mess. But nothing came to her; it was as if her brain had frozen over, leaving all of her rational thought to the wind.

Somehow she managed to find her voice, although it didn't come out as forceful as she wanted it to. "T-there's no reason why we are fighting. He was just a foolish kid. You d-don't have to be such a bully."

The boy raised one of his painted eyebrows. "A bully huh? Why I don't consider this bullying at all. I am merely a respected shinobi teaching insignificant punks the edict on how to respect their betters. If you can't handle that then I suggest you consider yourself another career choice." Hinata watched with dread as he began to slowly unwrap the large bundle, revealing a horribly ugly wooden doll.

She swallowed the lump that began to form in her throat. "W-what on earth is that?"

"Oh you'll see," he sneered as he held the doll suspended from strings of chakra from his fingertips.

Suddenly the air changed around them. It became thicker, almost heavy. Hinata frantically looked around. She could feel an immense presents of chakra near by. She'd never felt anything like it before; it was as if it was coming from everywhere at once. She glanced at the boy that stood before her. He had ceased his attack and was now nervously looking around. She could tell he sensed the presence as well; his body became very tense and rigid.

"Kankuro… what do you think you are doing…"

Hinata watched as the boy named Kankuro stiffened, his eyes searching for the bodiless voice. In an instant a gust of wind and sand swirled up in front of him, a person appeared within the depths of the sand. It was a boy around Hinata's age with rust colored hair and haunting eyes. He carried with him a large gourd that was strapped to his back.

Kankuro jumped back in surprise, dragging his puppet back with him. "Gaara! Um… I wasn't doing anything… just taking care of a few pests, that's all," he laughed nervously pointing at Hinata.

Hinata's breath got caught in her throat as the one called Gaara looked at her. A sick feeling began to rise in her stomach by the weight of his stare. She felt as though the atmosphere around her became very dense, as if she was drowning in the air around her.

Gaara watched as the color in the girls face began to drain away. He knew he was probably frightening her, but he didn't care. She was just like all the others, useless fools. Just then something on the ground caught his attention. A ninja headband sat rumpled in the dirt. He looked backed at Kankuro and frowned.

"It upsets me, Kankuro, that I find you wasting your energy on useless weaklings. We have better things to do with our time. If I find you messing around again… I'll kill you."

Kankuro's face turned completely white. He immediately began to wrap his puppet back up. "R-right. Got it, won't happen again Gaara." Gaara turned around and shot one last look at the girl.

Hinata met Gaara's gaze and could see herself reflected in his pale blue orbs. She stared back stunned at the image that appeared before her, an image of a weak, indecisive girl sitting in the dirt. A hopeless case…

The image angered her. She felt something inside her snap. Her brows drew together as her hands balled up into tight fists.

"I am not weak."

Gaara paused in surprise. "What did you say?"

She stood up striate and wiped the dirt from her pants. A fierce light reflected in her eyes. "I said that I am _not_ weak."

For a moment Gaara was slightly taken back by the girl's reaction. No one had ever stood up to him before. In fact no one ever spoke to him unless they were sputtering out some weak plea for their life.

Kankuro stood back and stared at the girl in utter shock. _((Uh oh, this doesn't look good. She should've kept her mouth shut while she had a chance. Now she's captured Gaara's attention. Might as well dig her burial grave right now.))_

Gaara walked up to her until they stood no more than a few feet apart. He could see that she was slightly shaking but she didn't cower away as he'd expected her to.

_((This girl is… different.))_

Blood pounded in Hinata's head as she stared back at him. Her natural instincts were screaming at her to flee, to create as much distance between her and this strange boy as possible. But Hinata ignored her intuition; she was not going to back down… never again.

Suddenly Gaara lifted his arm and pointed his palm towards Hinata. Expecting an attack she jumped back and held her arms before her in a defensive position. Sand slithered down the length of his arm and gathered into his palm. Hinata stared back in surprise as her headband appeared within the little cloud of sand.

Gaara grabbed the headband. He studied it for a moment, noticing the hidden leaf symbol embossed on its plate. "This says here that you are from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. What are you doing in the Land of the Wind?"

Hinata was a bit taken aback by his question. She glanced wearily between Gaara and Kankuro. "I'm… I'm here to train… to get stronger."

Gaara looked at her for a moment with a placid expression, revealing nothing that was going on within his thoughts. After a long pause Hinata began to get anxious. She looked at her headband in his hand and wondered if she should dare try to take it from him.

Suddenly the look in Gaara's eyes changed. For a moment Hinata thought she saw a flicker of amusement behind his emotionless mask.

Without a word Gaara tossed the headband at her and turned away.

Hinata blinked in surprise as she lunged out reaching for her falling headband before it hit the ground. When she stumbled to a halt she looked back up in bewilderment. Both Gaara and Kankuro were gone.

End of Chapter 3

A/N: Next chapter: The Elite


	4. Chapter 4 : The Elite

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters.

_((…))_ means thought

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 4: The Elite

Hinata yawned as she slowly traced her way towards the academy. The dry morning air was already beginning to get warm, sending promise of another day of scorching desert heat. Activity began to arouse around the sleepy village as shop owners and local businesses started to prepare for the day ahead. Hinata rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she made her way through the village. Her head felt heavy due to her lack of sleep from the night before. She had dreamt that she was drowning in sand. But this sand was no ordinary sand, no, this sand was completely red and it reeked of blood. Hinata shook herself as she vividly remembered how in her dream she could feel herself being watched from the darkness by two piercing pale blue eyes… his eyes.

Hinata thought back on the events that happened on the previous day and the strange boy who mysteriously materialized from the wind and sand. She remembered the pressure of his immense chakra pressing all around her and how effortlessly he was able to bend the sand to his will, as if the sand itself was a living thing. Hinata pulled her jacket closer to her body as the memory ran through her head. Her small streak of courage had worn off during the night and now she felt uneasy and vulnerable.

A low rumble escaped from Hinata's stomach, pulling her from her thoughts. Due to her anxiety she hadn't been able to eat a decent meal for days. She blushed when she visualized herself walking into the academy with her stomach growling like an angry dog. She quickly glanced around and spied a baker's booth not to far ahead.

_((No harm in picking something up on the way.))_

She bought a sweet roll from the vendor and chewed on it as she walked. The food helped stabilize her nerves and clear her mind, making it easier to focus on her task at hand.

_((Well, it won't do me any good worrying about what happened yesterday. What's done is done and I'll just have to deal with the consequences as they come. Now I have to focus on maintaining my dignity in front of the elite squad I'm going to be assigned to today. I'll probably have to work twice as hard if I'm expected to keep up.))_

She forced herself to swallow down the rest of her roll as she picked up her pace and headed striate for the academy, knowing all to well that tardiness was not an option.

* * *

Room A-11 was located on the top floor of the academy, which was reserved for the more advanced classes. Hinata climbed the stairs, ignoring the off hand glances she got from the other genin who loitered around the classrooms. When she made it to the end of the hall she found that Gomei and Zhen were already there. They stood silently next to the door, waiting for Master Baki to let them in. Neither of them looked up at Hinata as she approached, instead they leaned against the wall and stared at the floor in front of them.

She could feel their anticipation. She too could taste a certain vitality of energy in the air. Despite her nervousness Hinata felt a string of excitement pulling inside of her. Somehow, over the last few days something inside of her began to blossom. Instead of feeling dread she found herself wanting to take on a challenge, something that might push her into new boundaries of her developing skills. Hinata stood there for a moment and let this new notion of confidence sink in.

_((Well, I made it this far. No use backing out now.))_

She leaned against the wall next to Gomei and Zhen and waited in silence. Through the closed door they could hear Master Baki inside, discussing the day's assignments to the elite ninja within. Suddenly the door opened and Master Baki poked his head out of the classroom.

"We are ready for you now. You may come in."

Zhen, Gomei and Hinata silently filed into the room, all trying to stay as quiet as possible. The room itself was small and darkly lit. They lined up at the head of the class in front of Master Baki, glancing nervously at the other occupants who sat across from them. Nine of the elites stared back at the newcomers, studying them with mild interest.

Hinata peered back at them, the poorly lit room made it made it difficult to see them clearly. She was tempted to activate her Byakugan but quickly dismissed the notion when she saw Baki studying them with a keen look in his eyes. She straitened her shoulders and tried to look confident although her stomach was now filled with butterflies. She stole quick glances at each elite trying to see which of them looked the friendliest and most suited for her as possible teammates. However none of them fit that category, not one of them even attempted to hide the fact that they were more than a little pissed that they're being assigned wet-nosed rookies to look after. Hinata silently pleaded that they couldn't sense her fear. She would've rather fought Lin again than to take on any of these aggravated ninja.

Just then a small movement caught her attention from the back of the room. Her head unintentionally jerked back as her eyes fell upon two vaguely distinct pale blue orbs looking out at her through the darkness.

It was _him_…

Gaara sat in the very back of the class. He was flanked by two other genin, one was Kankuro and the other Hinata recognized was the kunoichi she had seen in the arena only a day before. All three studied the rookies with less than thrilled expressions on their faces.

Due to her shy nature Hinata's eyes automatically shot to her feet as her face began to drain of its color. She tried to calm her rapidly beating heart from pushing its way right through her chest. What was it about him that made her so jittery? She'd never felt a presence like his before. It was so bleak and yet threatening at the same time, as though he was a phantom waiting for the right moment to capture your soul and drag it down to the underworld. Hinata noticed that Zhen and Gomei had become wary of his presence as well. They shot nervous glances in his direction before quickly averting their eyes to the floor. Although she had met him only once before it appeared to her that the entire academy felt uneasy whenever they were in his presence. Hinata silently wondered what was it about him that made everyone so fearful.

Despite her inner warnings Hinata couldn't help but to sneak another peek at him. Although there was a thick gloom between them she could still make out a few of his features. Like when they met before his face remained placid and emotionless but his dark rimmed eyelids contrasted his pale eyes, enhancing them tenfold. She had never seen eyes like his before, so intense and focused and yet something hidden deep within, a mystery. Just as she was about to look away when Gaara's eyes suddenly shift and locked with her own. In an instant Hinata felt the same formidable pressure pushing against her as it had before. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle as his gaze bore into hers. She felt as though he was staring right through her, directly into her very soul. A little voice inside her head told her to look away, to break his gaze before she invoked his deadly wrath. But Hinata's pride would not let her relent. Images of yesterday's events flashed across her memory, of her sprawled out on the dirt floor as he loomed over her with the look of cynical disdain within those callous eyes of his. The memory fueled her dormant temper. She told herself before that she wasn't weak and she was not going to prove herself wrong by breaking down in front of him. She straightened her back and shot a dark look of her own with as much force as she could muster, attacking his attempt to intimidate her with her own stubborn pride.

Gaara was slightly puzzled by the girl's sudden change of mood. Her posture straitened and the look in her eyes grew bolder. No one had ever looked at him that way before. Usually he received fearful glances whenever others looked at him. But she… she looked as though she was actually _challenging_ him. Gaara frowned and straightened up in his seat, returning her challenge with a forceful glare of his own. Never in his life had he ever backed down from a challenge and he wasn't going to start with her.

Temari sat back in her seat and surveyed the new rookies. "Hmm, doesn't seem like a very interesting bunch, eh Gaara?" She looked over at her brother when he didn't answer. He was sitting up in his seat and was glaring at something up ahead. "Gaara?" She followed his stare and was surprised to find one of the rookies glaring back at him.

Temari looked on in shock between the girl and Gaara in their battle of will. _((What's wrong with her? Is she actually challenging Gaara?))_ She looked over at Kankuro who had also noticed his brother's strange behavior. Kankuro looked up at Temari and shrugged, not knowing what to make of the situation.

"Well let's get started then," Master Baki announced to the class and he strolled out between the new rookies and the elite. To Hinata's relief her view of Gaara was blocked by Master Baki as he stood before them, she could feel the tension in her shoulders lessen. Oblivious with his interference of the silent battle Baki continued, "These three genin have passed the initiation exam and have earned the right to be actively enrolled into our elite squads. Each rookie will be assigned to a squad and will participate in that chosen squad's mission." He turned towards the rookies and read from his clipboard. "Zhen, you have been assigned to team Amaiko of Squad 20. Take your seat." Zhen silently made his way to Squad 20, an expression of relief spread across his face.

"Gomei, you have been assigned to team Yugiri of Squad 12, take your seat." The color in Hinata's face began to drain away as she watched Gomei quickly make her way over to her chosen squad.

Master Baki finally turned towards her, "And last we have Hyuga who will be assigned to team Gaara of Squad 13. Take your seat."

Hinata's face turned into a placid gray color. She looked up at Master Baki, silently pleading with him to reconsider but he had already turned away from her and was rearranging the papers on his desk. The other ninja's were all staring at her now, she could see the other two rookies trying to hide their mocking grins, both relieved that they weren't in her shoes. Master Baki turned and frowned when he noticed that she hadn't moved from her spot. "Move it Hyuga! We can't wait for you all day."

The bark within Baki's voice caused Hinata to jump from her glued state. "Uh, sorry sir!" Her face turned a bright red color as giggles from the other students followed her across the classroom. She felt as though her feet had turned to lead as she made her way towards Squad 13. She couldn't believe it. She was going to be on his team? Was there some cosmic force trying to pull a cruel prank on her? Could she have been evil in a former life to deserve such a fate? She quickly took her seat next to the squad while keeping her eyes locked to the floor. She could feel their eyes on her but she refused to look up, afraid she might lose all of her nerve and bolt out the room.

Master Baki cleared his throat. "Okay then, now that we are all settled I will assign each squad their mission. You're expected to complete these missions two weeks from today. Just to let you new rookies know, there will be no jounins assigned to accompany you on these missions; this will show us whether you can cut is as an elite or not."

Hinata felt her stomach tighten. Going on an elite mission was bad enough but without the supervision of a jounin as well? The future was already looking grim.

"Alright, here are your assignments. Squad 12, you are being assigned on a scouting mission near the eastern borders of the Land of Wind. We need able bodied ninja to scout out the eastern flank for enemy spies. Once your two weeks are completed return to the village and process your reports."

Baki turned towards Squad 20. "You have been assigned on an escort mission. Ambassador Goranu from the Land of Rain will be returning home and will need protection. It's your job to make sure he gets there unharmed."

Lastly, Baki turned towards Squad 13. "Squad 13, you have been assigned a recovery mission. Regrettably, we have recently suffered a theft of one of our country's sacred scrolls of sealing. After interrogating one of the thief's accomplices we discovered that the scroll is currently located in a southern stronghold in the Land of Stone. Failure to retrieve this scroll is not an option."

"Wait a minute!" The blonde kunoichi who sat next to Hinata stood up. "Recovery missions are considered level B assignments, reserved for only the most advanced jounin. Isn't this a bit out of our league?"

Hinata looked up at her in full agreement. She was right; there was no way they could take on a mission this advanced.

Master Baki glanced back at her and chuckled. "Well, if you feel like you're not up for it then maybe I should assign something a little less challenging for you. Maybe your squad would feel more comfortable babysitting a nobleman's five year old child instead?"

Anger crossed the kunoichi's face. "That's not what I meant!"

"Temari… sit down." Gaara spoke softly but forcefully.

"But Gaara, this isn't-"

"I said… sit."

The look in Gaara's eyes sent shivers up Temari's spine. She quickly obeyed her brother's orders, not wanting to make him angrier than he already is. Hinata watched the scene in utter disbelief. Even his own teammates were afraid of him. What was it about him that made him so threatening?

Gaara looked at Baki. "We're taking the mission."

Master Baki nodded. "Okay then, since everyone is clear on their mission you will all be given the next eight hours to prepare yourselves. After that you are to return here to receive more in-depth details about your future targets. All of you should be prepared to make your departure by dusk. That is all, you're dismissed."

All three squads left the classroom and headed down the hall. As Hinata followed behind Squad 13 her mind was still trying to comprehend everything that had just happened. It amazed her how only a few minutes ago she was standing outside the classroom full of confidence and eager to take on any challenges that came her way. Now she felt as if doom itself was hovering over her like vultures to a carcass. Here she was; the shy, quiet Hinata Hyuga teamed up with the most feared squad in the Land of Wind about to embark on a level B mission. She vaguely wondered what her father would think of her now.

"Hey you?"

Hinata looked up in surprise, not realizing that the others had stopped before her. Immediately her heart began to beat frantically within her chest. The kunoichi called Temari crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to one side. "So, what's your name girl?"

Hinata gulped. "Um… my name is Hinata. Hinata Hyuga."

"Hinata huh?" Kankuro squinted his eyes and leaned over her until his face was only an inch away from hers, causing her to tilt back. "You're that little wimp we saw yesterday. How did a little squirt like you become elite material?"

Hinata tried to find her voice as the others watched her expectantly. "I-I was declared the winner of my preliminary match... A-and therefore earned the right to be here."

"Huh, is that so? You seem pretty weak to me." Suddenly Kankuro reached out and grabbed onto her wrist. "If you're tough enough to make it through the preliminary matches then prove it by freeing yourself." And with that Kankuro twisted her wrist backwards, sending painful bolts up the length of her arm.

"Ow! Stop it! That hurts. Let go of me!" Hinata tried to pull away but he only tightened his grip. Gaara and Temari stood back and watched, showing no signs of intervening.

Kankuro sneered. "Ha! I knew it. You're just a weakling who has no right to be here." He cocked his arm back and swung at her head.

Hinata ducked just in time as his fist went whizzing past her head. And then another. Suddenly in a split second after he swung at her a second time she spotted an opening on his left side. Without so much as a second thought Hinata ducked into Kankuro and slammed her open fist into his left rib cage, sending a burst of chakra racing through his body. She was so frightened that she released a little more chakra than she meant to and the impact sent his body spiraling through the air until it collided to the wall across the hall.

Hinata gasped for breath as she rubbed her throbbing wrist, her eyes cautiously watching Kankuro as he picked himself off the floor.

"Why you little-"

"That's enough Kankuro." Temari stepped between them. "We don't need to get another demerit from Baki. Anyway she's proven her worth for now." Temari glanced over at Hinata wearing a satisfied smirk on her face. "Hinata was it?"

Hinata nodded in response.

Temari peered at Hinata's ninja band. "So you're a foreigner huh? What are you doing in the Sand Village anyway?"

"She's here to train… and to get stronger." Hinata looked up at Gaara in surprise. Up till now she had almost forgotten he was there.

"Um… yeah. That's right."

Gaara folded his arms across his chest. "I find that very unlikely."

Hinata stared back at him as she felt anger bubbling up inside her. Was he actually trying to pick a fight with her? Her brows drew together as she glared at him. "And why is that?"

He stared at her with a vacant expression. "You don't have what it takes. It's as simple as that. You must be willing to kill your enemy in order to become strong." He glanced over at Kankuro who was still picking himself off the floor before returning his gaze to her. "I don't see any murderous intent reflecting from your eyes. Therefore you will not succeed." With that Gaara turned and began to stalk away from them.

Hinata stared at his back as her anger and embarrassment reached its peak. Before she could stop herself she called out to his retreating form. "Well, that may be your opinion but nobody has the power to see into the future… not even you."

Gaara paused and stared piercingly at her over his shoulder. They stood in silence for a moment glaring at one another. Hinata noticed from the corner of her eye that Temari and Kankuro began to slowly back way from her as though she had somehow contract some deadly disease. Just then the realization of what she was doing suddenly hit her. She was picking a fight with Gaara! One of the most feared students in Suna academy, who can control sand no less! His piercing stare bore into hers, freezing her on the spot. Suddenly she found it hard to breath. If he decided to kill her right now she wouldn't be able to stop him. The moment only lasted a few seconds but it felt like a life time. Just when she thought she might keel over in fright Gaara broke his stare and vanished down the hall without so much as a whisper.

Hinata stood rigidly for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. She looked over at Temari and Kankuro who also looked slightly relieved that Gaara was gone but then Temari fixed her with a hard glare. "Listen Hinata, I don't know what your deal is but I suggest you stay out of Gaara's way if you know what's good for you or you might find yourself dead before the mission even begins." And with that Temari and Kankuro left in Gaara's stead, leaving behind a very bewildered Hinata.

End of Chapter 4

A/N: Next chapter: Tides of Sand


	5. Chapter 5 : Tides of Sand

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters._

_((…)) _means thought

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 5: Tides of Sand

The sky was growing dark as gray clouds stretched across one horizon to the next, hanging in the atmosphere like a massive canopy of sheer wool. A light breeze blew across the dry plateau as stray clumps of brush tumbled through the sloping landscape. Cold air clung to Hinata's skin as long wasps of dry grass that spouted from dusty banks brushed against her bare calves, sending slight tingling sensations up the length of her legs. Ever since she left Konoha to the Village of Sand she had never realized how much she had actually missed the feeling of grass against her skin. She let her feet drag a bit, savoring the feeling as she followed Squad 13 through the barren wasteland.

Hinata's back began to ache as she tried to adjust the straps on her heavy travel pack. Before they began their journey, Master Baki had instructed them to pack extra provisions since they would be traveling over two country's boarders in order to reach their assigned target. Their target, Master Baki informed them, was once a noble clan's estate located within the southern tip of the Land of Stone, right along the boarder of the Land of Grass. Due to inner rebellions that lead to civil war the clan was overthrown and their estate was converted into a militaristic fortress. The high cliffs and immense rock faces of the local terrain created an ideal setting for a durable stronghold. The fortress itself was carved from the face of a solid stone cliff that looked over a vast ravine, making it almost impossible for a direct ambush. The only way for their squad to gain access to the fortress is by approaching it from the rear, which meant traveling up through the country of Grass into the Land of Stone's territory. The Land of Stone that is at much higher altitude than its fellow neighboring countries is surrounded by steep rock faces, creating an ideal natural defense against foreign invaders. However, despite its natural defenses the stone barriers had suffered through extensive erosion and avalanches, creating weaknesses within its outer defense. Throughout the years Hidden Sand spies have gathered information about these hidden weaknesses and discovered a few narrow trenches that led into the Land of Stone, unknown to the Stone country's government. Squad 13's best chance to infiltrate their target undetected is by entering through a hidden trench.

After the squad departed the Village Hidden in the Sand it took them three days to cross the treacherous desert. Hinata found the heat unbearable but managed to keep up with her group all the same. As they reached the edge of the desert the land around them turned from sandy dunes into rocky fields. To Hinata's relief the temperatures slightly cooled, making the journey a little more bearable. She looked out across the barren landscape. Although it had only been a few days since they've began their journey it felt as though it had been ages since she last saw any real signs of life. There was nothing to see but endless plains of dusty land stretching as far as she could see with a few withered outcrops of dry weeds and nettles. The sad view made Hinata feel empty, making her long for the lush forest of Konoha.

Hinata sighed as she thought about their mission. It seemed just as impossible then as it did now. It would be a miracle if she came out of this alive. How ironic was it that as a young girl she would often dream about traveling the world, now she would rather be in her safe little apartment hidden in the desert. She couldn't help but smile at her rotten luck. _((Well, at least I would've traveled a little bit before I die.))_

So far her other traveling companions have remained silent through out the entire trip. Gaara walked ahead of the group while Temari, Kankuro and Hinata followed a few paces behind. Whether it be traveling or taking breaks everyone kept to themselves, speaking unless absolutely necessary. Hinata found this rather unnerving but kept quiet all the same. There was no point in talking to others who weren't in the mood for conversation. Instead she turned her attention to their surroundings, however barren though it was. She noticed how farther away they got away from the desert the paler the sky became and how solid the earth felt beneath her feet.

She looked up at the sky and watched the darkness engulf the distant horizon. _((We won't be able to see any stars tonight. The clouds are to thick and probably won't burn off until morning.)) _Hinata pulled her jacket closer to her body as an icy gust of wind blew at them from the east. She tried to keep her teeth from chattering as two more gusts followed the first. She glanced over at Temari and Kankuro and noticed that they to were trying to fight off their shivers from the bitter cold. Gaara continued to walk ahead, showing no signs of slowing down. Hinata was amazed at how the cold seemed to have no affect on him; he just kept on his diligent way while staring off in the distance with those sullen eyes of rubbed her arms as her legs and shoulders began to throb in protest. She knew she wouldn't be able to go on much further and judging by the tired looks in Temari and Kankuro's eyes they wouldn't last much longer either.

Hinata bit her bottom lip and looked back at Gaara. She hadn't spoke to him since the beginning of the trip. Not wanting to cause any further waves between them she decided to take the other's lead by staying out of his way. It worked so far but now she was feeling cold, tired and needed rest. Although she didn't know the exact reason why she had a feeling that Kankuro and Temari wouldn't speak out to him, despite their own fatigue. They seemed to develop a healthy habit of tiptoeing around Gaara whenever he was around.

Another forceful gust of wind blew at Hinata, almost knocking her to the ground. She staggered a little and looked up at her team, her mind already getting frustrated. _((This is ridiculous. We need to stop sooner or later. I might not know what hidden deadly secrets Gaara may have but as of now I am willing to put up with whatever wrath he might inflict on me as long as I get a few moments of rest.))_

Hinata took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Um… Gaara?"

Gaara looked over his shoulder at her. For some strange reason his cold gaze always seemed to catch her off guard. Hinata stared at him for a moment, fixated in his pale blue eyes.

He looked back at her and started growing impatient. "What is it?"

Realizing that she was just staring at him Hinata quickly shook herself and tried to recover from her embracement. "Uh… do you… do you think it will be all right if we can stop for the night?" She started to fidget with her fingers, despite her efforts not to. "Darkness is approaching fast and we won't be able to see what lies ahead of us for very much longer… I mean there's no point in going on if we can't see where we're going, right?"

Gaara stared back into her pleading eyes. He could tell she was exhausted and by the hopeful expressions on Temari and Kankuro faces it seemed that they were as well. Gaara sighed, annoyed by the fact that their weakness stalled their chances of reaching the target sooner. "Fine… we'll stop here for the night." He turned away from Hinata's look of gratitude and stalked over to a near by boulder that stuck out of the earth.

Hinata quickly unbuckled her pack and let it fall from her shoulders. She sighed in relief as the extra weight left her body. She stretched and rotated her arms, loosening up the tight knots that had formed in her shoulders and the base of her neck.

Kankuro set the Crow down and looked around their barren surroundings. "Nothing to build a fire with. Looks like we'll be eating in the dark again."

Temari sat on the ground and took a long drink from her water bottle. She eyed the Crow and shot a sly grin at her brother. "Why don't you light up the Crow? I'm sure he'll make a decent fire."

Kankuro held the Crow possessively to him and shot Temari a venomous look. "You stay away from Crow. He wasn't built to warm your frosty but."

Temari rolled her eyes and waved her brother off dismissively. "Don't have a cow Kankuro, I was only kidding. I won't touch your precious Crow." Kankuro grabbed Crow and huffed indignantly away from her, settling himself on the far side of their camp.

Hinata tried to hide her smile as she unrolled her sleeping bag. She found their occasional sibling spats a nice form relief from the growing pressure of the mission to come. She settled down and munched on a few pieces of dried fruit from her pack while looking out at the last few suddle rays of light peeking out of the horizon. Off in the distance Hinata could hear the soft hum of crickets hiding in the underbrush. They sounded like a miniature choir of high pitches and tones. Hinata wished that Shino were here so that he could tell her what they were saying.

Temari and Kankuro rolled out their sleeping bags and settled in for the night. Hinata pulled off her sandals and slipped into her own sleeping bag. Although the ground was uncomfortable she was still thankful that she would be off her feet for at least a few hours. She glanced over at Gaara who sat in the shadow of the large boulder. He leaned against its rocky surface as he peered out at the dark horizon. Throughout the entire trip Hinata had not once seen him sleep. In fact he didn't even carry a sleeping bag with him, just that humongous gourd. She silently wondered how he was able to function throughout the day without any rest. Hinata's eye fell upon the large gourd that laid on the ground next to him. Her stomach began to tighten as she stared at it. Something about the thing made her uneasy, as if it gave off some kind of weird dark aura. At times during their travels Hinata could of sworn she saw the thing involuntary move on its own, as if something inside it was alive.

Hinata forcing her gaze away from the gourd and looked back at him. _((He's such an enigma. How could one person have so many secrets? He's seems so cold and intimidating and yet at the same time so very sad and alone. I wonder what happened to him that made him that way?))_

Suddenly, Gaara turned and looked directly at her. Hinata froze as once again their eyes momentary locked with one another's. She could feel her cheeks growing red with embarrassment that he had caught her watching him. Hinata quickly looked away and pretended to adjust her sleeping bag before lying down and turning away from him.

She stared at the ground, feeling foolish for letting him get to her. _((I have to get a hold of myself. I have other things to worry about besides him, like surviving the mission for starters. I have to get stronger, no matter what the cost.)) _Hinata took a deep breath and tried to relax. Her mind, too tired from the day's trip already began shutting down on her. She closed her eyes and listened to the gentle murmur of the crickets, accompanied by Kankuro's random grunts and snores. She curled up in her sleeping bag and let sleep take her.

* * *

They woke before dawn the following morning and traced their way across the rocky plain to the edge of the Land of Wind. By noon they found an old trail that lead into the boundaries of the Grass Lands, heading north towards the Land of Stone. As they made their way deeper into the grass country suddle signs of the local habitat started to appear. The land became flatter as vast fields of grass spread out before them. The grassy plains grew greener and lusher as they entered the heart of the country, growing tall enough to reach Hinata's waist.

They passed a few rice plantations as they headed towards the rising hills in the distance. Local framers standing in knee-deep mud glanced at them from beneath their wide rimmed sun hats. Some called out friendly greetings as they past while other stared at them with curiosity and mistrust. Hinata glanced at her surroundings; steam rose from the wet grasslands as the sun warmed the earth below, making the atmosphere humid and pleasant.

A light breeze picked up as a familiar scent caught under Hinata's nose. She looked up into the distance as her heart made a little leap of joy. In the distances a forest peeked up from the horizon, covering the rolling hills and disappearing into the sloping hillsides. Trees swayed in the suddle breeze, appearing to Hinata as if they waved to her as if greeting an old friend. Her spirits perked up as they headed towards the mounting grove. As they drew closer she noticed that the forest was thinner than the ones she was use to in Konoha but all in all she was comfort by the familiar site.

The trail they had been following began to bend away from the forest and headed towards the west. Gaara lead his team off the trail and headed into the heart of the forest. Rays of light broke through the canopy, doting the forest floor with abstract shadows. Although the forest was thin it brimmed with movement and life. Birds chirped above them as small rodents quickly scurried away from the new comers as they tromped through the soft earth of the forest floor. Hinata filled her lungs with the deep earthy scent, bringing back fond memories of her childhood in Konoha.

Just then something crashed in front of them. Gaara stopped in his tracks, causing the others to halt behind him. Something was moving through the trees, forcing its way through the underbrush. As it got closer Hinata could her the distinct sound of slurred human speech, then she caught a whiff of something foul. She covered her nose as the smell got stronger. Kankuro covered his face with his sleeve. "Good God! What on earth is that?"

Temari pinched her own nose. "Uh, it smells as if something died and was left here to rot."

A second crash came through the forest as all four of them watched as a skinny old man stumbled his way out in front of them. Hinata peered at him as she tried to hold her breath against his reeking odor. His cloths were torn and his hair and body was completely matted in filth. He fiddled with his hands as he mumbled non-distinguishable words under his breath.

It took the old hermit a few moments before realizing that someone was standing before him. He looked up with beady yellowish eyes and gave a cry in surprise. He fell to his knees and held his dirt-incrusted hands out to them. "P-please… would you spare a bit to eat?" he pleaded in a raspy voice. "I haven't eaten in days. Have mercy on a poor beggar." He grinned up at them, revealing a gapped smile with only two yellowish teeth.

Gaara sneered in disgust as he stared down at the old beggar. "Step aside old man… before I take your life."

The old man shivered and shrinked out of Gaara's way as he past by him without a second glance. He looked pleadingly up at Kankuro and Temari as they pass by.

Temari shot him a scornful look. "Don't push your luck old geezer. You're lucky Gaara's in a stable mood or else you'd be eating sand right now." She quickly walked away from him and followed after Gaara, trying to distance herself from his putrid smell.

Kankuro glanced down at him with his arm still covering his face. "Humph! The only thing you need right now is a bath."

Hinata stood behind and watched as her team left the poor man behind, looking dejected and broken. Despite his rather scary appearance and overpowering body odor Hinata felt an overwhelming pity for the beggar. Inside her mind she could hear the words of Master Kurenai echoing through her memories. _((A shinobi's duty is to shield the innocent from harm and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves… that's the way of a true ninja. We draw strength from those we protect and care for… that's the source of true power. ))_ The memory seeped through Hinata right down to her very soul. She pulled her heavy pack from her shoulders and searched through it before she found a small package of dried meats. Knowing that her team would look down on her for giving into such sympathy Hinata waited until they were further up ahead before she approached the beggar and handed him the packet.

The beggar looked up at Hinata as joy spread across his face. "Oh thank you my child. You are an angel of mercy." He took the gift from her and cherished it as if it was more precious than gold.

Further up ahead Gaara glanced back behind him and spied Hinata kneeling in front of the beggar. Gaara frowned and turned away from the suddle display of charity. Something stirred inside him that made his insides feel tight. Kindness, sympathy, love… all delusions of weak-minded fools. Only those who cast out such frivolous emotions had the right to survive. _((She's just as foolish as the rest of them. Nothing good can ever come out of caring for worthless pests like him…))_ He glanced back at her; a gentle smile had spread across her face as she looked down at the beggar. The void within Gaara's chest felt hollow and emptier than ever. He forced his gaze away and quicken his pace. _((Humph… pathetic…))_

Hinata looked up when she noticed that the others we getting to far ahead. Afraid of being left behind Hinata started to leave only to have the beggar stop her. "Wait!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to his face as she cringed from his overwhelming odor. "Beware…" he whispered in her ear, "beware the hidden eyes within the stones… they know all…"

Hinata stared back at him confused and a little shaken by the urgency in his voice. "Who? What's in the stones? What do you mean?"

The beggar glanced nervously to his left and right. "Within the shadows… _they_ can see all. Don't go near the stones!" The beggar sprung to his feet and cried wildly as he fled into the forest. "Beware the stones! They know all!" Hinata watched him disappear into the forest, utterly confused by his cryptic message. Something's watching from the stones? But what? Could he mean the trench?

"Hinata! What are you doing? Hurry up will ya…" Temari called out to her.

Hinata looked back one last time in the direction the beggar fled before getting to her feet. "Uh… right. Sorry…" she got up and ran after her teammates.

* * *

It took another day and a half before they reached the outer boundary of the Land of Stone. The forest peeled back, cut way in a wide semicircular clearing. Towering above them was the most immense wall of sheer rock Hinata had ever seen. It stretched up so high that Hinata had to tip back her head to the point of dizziness just to see the top. To either side it seemed to go on forever until it was lost behind a curve or fold in its vast length. The land, _all_ the land rose by a thousand feet or more. Hinata felt as if she had lived her whole life on one stair of a stairway and had just come to the base of the next one up.

Temari squinted down its long length. "If our information is correct there should be an opening here somewhere." She looked over to her right. "There, I see it." She pointed to a fold in the rock. Its surface was of dark rock, jagged and pleated by the ravages of millennia of weathering, pocked and scared with ruts and broken boulders. Shrouded in the in shadow of the cliff was a brake in the stone that turned into a narrow trench leading into the inner boundary.

Hinata peered down the trench with the feeling of foreboding. The trench although a thousand feet tall was only a few yards wide, making it's space for movement very limited. She looked up to the sky and noticed the sun was quickly setting, making the shadows within the trench more ominous than ever. For some reason the words of the beggar's warning kept echoing through her mind. He was probably just some lunatic drifter wandering through the forest spitting out mad versus to anyone who would listen, but somehow Hinata felt that that wasn't entirely true. There was something very strange about this place, something very dangerous.

Hinata watched Gaara and the others approach the mouth of the trench. A cold wind blew from its depths, making the hair on the back of her neck prickle. She stood ridged and stiff as both her instincts and intuition began to scream warning signs at her. Her imagination began to take hold of her fear, showing her monstrous images of the creatures that could be lurking within. She balled her hands up into fist as she tried to tame her growing nerves.

Gaara looked back after noticing she wasn't following. "Well… what are you waiting for?"

All eyes turned towards Hinata. Her pale face became even paler as she noticed the look of annoyance in their eyes. She knew that they couldn't afford another stall but something here wasn't right. They would probably think her a coward and a fool but she felt she needed to tell them nonetheless. "I… I don't think this passage is safe. I feel a dark presence here. That old man we met in the forest told me that something might be watching the trench… perhaps we should find another way."

Temari folded her arms across her chest and chuckled. "Don't tell me you're starting to get cold feet Hinata. Are you afraid of going down this little trench?"

Hinata's cheeks turned slightly pink. "No! It's just that… what that man said before-"

"HA!" Kankuro barked. "And you actually believed him? I bet that old kook had more teeth than he did brain cells."

Temari looked down at Hinata more seriously. "Besides if our information is correct we should reach the other end by morning. So stop stalling us with your whimperingand lets get moving."

They all turned their backs on her and continued their way into the trench. Hinata stared back at them, her pride shot by that last comment. She felt anger beginning to rise up inside her. _((I am not a wimp. I left that part of me behind in Konoha; I'm a new person now… they'll see. But still, there's something going on here that I don't like.))_ Against her better judgment she raced after them, determined to prove to them that she was no coward.

The trench rose around the squad as they entered the trench. Their only source of light came from a thin line of star-studded sky that hovered above them. The only sound that could be heard was the echoing sounds of their footsteps scratching against the gravel floor. The jagged edge of the massive stonewalls stretched endlessly before them, disappearing into the vague darkness. Hinata felt as though they had just walked into the jaws of some enormous creature, waiting to eat them alive. Tiny beads of sweat appeared on Hinata's brow as they ventured deeper into the trench. Its claustrophobic space made her feel uneasy and slightly jumpy. Her nerved were buzzing with alertness as she tried to focus her attention on every shadow and furrow in the rock face, looking for any signs of movement. She felt as though the suspense was driving her mad, as if the walls themselves were closing in on her. She looked over at the others. As usual Gaara continued on his way wearing his emotionless mask but Hinata noticed that Temari and Kankuro were looking at their surroundings with a new anxiousness reflecting in their eyes.

They walked through the dark for hours. Hinata clung tightly to the straps on her pack as she tried to focus on calming thoughts, anything to keep her mind from her scary surroundings. She thought about the beautiful sunrises of the desert and the lush forests of Konoha. Suddenly a memory came to her like a suddle voice in the wind. Images of Shino, Kiba and Akamaru appeared in her minds eye. She thought hard as she tried to recall the memory.

… _Flashback…_

Hinata ran hard through the Leaf Academy's training ground. Sweat soaked through her cloths as her legs began to throb in pain. She had to make it to the next marker before her time was up.

"Hurry up Hinata!" Shino called out to her from the finish line. "You'll never make it at this pace."

She dodged between trees and bushes as she forced herself to move faster. She knew she wasn't going to make it in time but she didn't let that stop her, either way she was going to finish her training, no matter what the cost. Suddenly something grabbed her and pulled her to the side. Hinata looked up in surprise as Kiba appeared beside her, along with Akamaru.

She looked up at him questionably. "What? W-what is it?"

Kiba pointed at the clearing in front of her. Hinata looked at it for a moment before she spotted a thin silvery line of ninja wire crossing her path. If she would of continued running she would of collided right into it.

Kiba gave Hinata a worried look. "You've got to be more careful Hinata. If Akamaru did see you in time you would of fallen right into that trap. You've got to pay more attention to your inner instincts."

She wiped the sweat from her brow. "My instincts?"

"Yeah, you know, those unconscious feelings you get when something is amiss. Unlike humans who tend to over look their instincts due to pride or ignorance animals use them as a basic necessity of life, that's what makes animals unique from man." He patted Akamaru on the head before looking sternly up at Hinata. "Never doubt your instincts Hinata. Most of the time they know more than we do… trust them, they might save your life one day… "

… _End Flashback… _

The memory of her old teammates brought back a little strength into her heart. Kiba was right. Something is going on here and her instincts were trying to warn her of approaching danger. It was time she stopped ignoring her instincts and started paying close attention to the reality at hand. She was different now; she wasn't going to let her fear get in the way of her common sense. Hinata fell back from the group and held her hands out in front of her, performing a verity of hand signs.

_((Byakugan!))_

Hinata peered through the darkness around her. She adjusted her eyes to see through the shadows and stone. Everything was still and silent, other than a few insects and an occasional lizard or two the entire trench was completely barren of life. Hinata focused her gaze at the area ahead of them. Using the byakugan she was able to make out the other end of the trench, which was not to far ahead. It began to widen as it dipped into a wide bowl at the base of a mountain, with peaks rising high all around it. She focused her attention along the rim of the trench, searching for the exit. She spotted it at the base of the stonewall. It was smaller than the one they entered in due to the large amounts of rubble that filled up most of the gap. Some years ago an avalanche must have fallen from the mountain, filling the mouth of the trench with large amounts of debris. Judging by its small size they would have to pass through it one at a time in order to get through.

Suddenly a large shadow shifted in the corner of her vision. Hinata quickly looked in its direction and peered through the gloom. She strained her byakugan to catch a glimpse of it but it was to no avail. Whatever it was it was it was gone and extremely fast. _((Well this is a problem. Whatever it is it's very fast and very large. And not only that but it has the ability to cloak itself from my byakugan. Defiantly not a good omen_.)) Hinata's hands began to shake as she loosened her shuriken from her belt.

Temari looked over at Hinata when she noticed her falling behind. Annoyed by the girl's sluggishness Temari stopped and waited for her to catch up. As Hinata approached her Temari noticed that something was wrong by her ridged stature. "What's wrong? What are you doing Hinata?" Temari was taken aback when Hinata looked at her directly in the eye. Through the darkness she could see slight alterations to Hinata's face. Her eyes seemed larger and had a slight glow to them. The veins and muscles around her sockets strained as large amounts of chakra flowed towards her eyes. Temari stepped back. "W-what's happened to your face?"

Hinata could see Temari's bewilder expression through the darkness. Hinata held her hand up in a gentle manner as she notice Temari backing away from her, in fact Hinata could literally _see_ Temari's heart pounding frantically in her chest. "It's okay Temari," she whispered, "I'm just using a my special jutsu hereditary to my clan. It allows me to see what others can't."

Temari cautiously approached her as she peered into Hinata's face. "Unbelievable…"

Hinata shook her head. "Never mind that right now. We have other things to worry about. There's something dangerous in this trench. We've got to get out of here fast before-"

Suddenly Kankuro gave out a cry as he tripped over a large spiny root rising out of the earth. He loudly cursed as he picked himself off the ground. "What the hell? Stupid thing popped out of the ground from nowhere." He struggled to free his pant leg from the bristly spiked of the root. Suddenly the root moved and shifted in the dirt floor. To Hinata's horror a large shadow hovered over Kankuro as he struggled to free himself. She could see glistening fangs extend from its large mouth as it rose to strike Kankuro from behind.

"Kankuro get down!" Hinata flung her shuriken at the shadow as Kankuro turned around in shock. Her weapon hit the creature's side, causing it to give off a horrible cry of anguish. The ground around Kankuro gave away as the horrible monster picked its massive body up from the earth. Hinata and Temari stared on in terror as eight spiny legs as thick as tree trunks sprouted from the ground, hoisting a large abdomen into the air.

Hinata watched as the shadow took the form of the largest spider she had ever seen. It's thick body span the length of a large horse while its hide was incased in a thick onyx shell. Its fangs glistened with yellowish froth as eight beady blood red eyes stared down at her in wrath. It gave off an ear-piercing screech as it charged at Temari and Hinata at an alarming rate. Without thinking Hinata quickly grabbed Temari and flung her to the side as the spider barreled striate into her. The yellow froth that dripped from the spider's fangs burned holes through her jacket as its giant head pinned her to the ground. Hinata grabbed at her kunai knives to defend herself from its snapping jaws.

Temari quickly picked herself off the ground and unsheathed the fan from her back. "Hey! Get off of her you ugly bastard!" she unfolded her fan and waved it in the air, "Cyclone Jutsu!" A massive stream of wind erupted from Temari's fan and hit the spider with its powerful force. The spider spiraled into the air and hit the stonewall with a sickening crunch. Temari held her attack as air pressed against the spider's body, crushing it with its enormous force. When Temari finally released the spider was nothing more than a dark smudge in the stone face.

Hinata looked up at her as she picked herself off the ground. "T-thanks."

Temari smiled at Hinata. "What can I say? I have a thing against spiders."

Hinata smiled in return. "Obviously. I'm glad I'm not a spider."

Kankuro stumbled over to them as he rubbed a large lump on the top of his forehead. "Lets get out of here… there's nothing I hate more that giant mutant pest."

Suddenly the ground began to dislodge and buckle beneath them. Giant spiny legs began sprouting out all around them. Temari's attack set off a chain reaction causing other large masses to sprout from the ground. Hinata frantically looked around with her byakugan as the entire trench began to glow with chakra signatures. _((There must be thousands of them! They kept themselves hidden beneath the earth to attack unsuspecting prey. Somehow they have the ability to shut down their inner circulatory systems into a comatose state, preventing me to spot any of their chakra signatures. They've been under us this whole time!)) _Suddenly the realization hit her, this trench wasn't created by years of weathering, these monsters dug it out. We have walked right into a nest!

Kankuro looked over at Temari and Hinata. "I think we better leave. Before we end up as their midnight snacks."

Temari nervously glanced at the waking spiders around her. "You're right, we've got to get out of here fast." She pointed at the stonewall ahead of them. "Look! I can see the exit from here. We can make it if we run."

"Wait!" Hinata looked around her. There was so much movement going on around her that she lost sight of Gaara. "We've lost Gaara! I can't see him anywhere."

Temari grabbed onto her sleeve. "Don't worry about him. We need to save our own skins!"

"But-" Temari pulled Hinata behind her as all three of them ran through the waking trench. The stonewalls began crumbling around them as spiders emerged from everywhere at once. Spiders came at them in droves, attacking them like a pack of wolves. Temari plowed a pathway through them with her wind attack as Kankuro used the Crow to dispatch those that attacked from above. Hinata guarded Kankuro and Temari's back as waves of spiders followed them through the trench. She sliced through some with her kunai knife while hitting others using her silent fist technique, attacking their inner organs, which were vulnerable and soft compared to their outer hard exteriors. They ran through the trench with as much speed as they could muster, while at the same time trying to keep the spiders at bay. Hinata kept looking around her, hoping to see any sign of Gaara, but the only thing she saw was a vast sea of moving bodies. Suddenly the end of the trench came into their view. The trench's exit was small, two small for the spiders to fit their fat bodies through.

"Alright!" Kankuro whooped in glee, "Almost there!"

Suddenly a massive figure stepped in front of their path. All three stared up in shock as the largest spider they had seen yet blocked their only exit. It was nearly ten times the size of the other spiders, about the size of a three-story house.

Kankuro gulped as he clung onto Crow. "Uh-oh… I-I think we've met the mommy."

All the color drained from Temari's face. "How on earth are we going to take down a thing like that?"

Suddenly the monstrous spider gave out an ear-piercing screech and swung its massive leg out at the trio. Temari and Kankuro quickly jumped out of the way but Hinata wasn't fast enough. The spider's leg caught Hinata, hitting her in the stomach before sending her flying through the air and landing into a large pile of broken stones. When Hinata opened her eyes she was a tangled mess within the rubble. The pain within her chest and lungs was so great that she almost forgot the pain in her head. Although her vision was blurry she could still make out the giant spider stalking towards her. _((I… I have to get up… there's no way I'm going to die here… not like this… not without proving my worth to the world.)) _There was a red haze hanging before her eyes. Her mind began to waver as the monster approached_. ((She's going to kill me for sure... if I don't do something soon.))_

Hinata imagined that she saw the spider's jaws opening, for if she had seen it, there would have been no time left. Drops of acidy goop dripped from the spider's fangs, burning holes through Hinata's cloths and searing her skin. The pain brought some of her consciousness back to her. Hinata slowly struggled to get to her feet. She hadn't had time to figure out how seriously hurt she was, so she picked herself up and flung herself at the spider's face as it bent forward to swallow her whole. It yanked its head up as she held on grimly with one hand and her feet. She reached into her belt with her free hand and pulled out her kunai knife. The spider shook its head from side to side, the weight of the air held her flat upon its face for a moment as the spider tried to claw her off with one of its long legs. Hinata saw her chance, with enormous effort she heaved herself up the spiders face and flung herself down flat again, plunging her knife into one of the spider's ruby red eye. The spider gave out a horrendous cry, making Hinata's eardrums ring in pain, but she continued to plunge deeper into the socket. The force of the blow had all of her weight behind it, for all the little strength she had left, her weight carried the knife deep into the spider's eye, and on into its brain. As her fingers clutched convulsively around the knife's hilt, her arm followed all the way through the socket, its passage shoulder deep. She felt the spider shutter beneath her and then became very still. Hinata laid still on the dead spider's head, her body hurting and her mind in a daze.

"Hinata! Hinata are you okay?"

Hinata heard Temari's voice and slowly picked herself up. She looked down from the giant spiders carcass at Kankuro and Temari who stood on the ground below. "Yeah… I'm fine," was all Hinata was able to force out of her crushed lungs. She slid off the spider's head to Temari and Kankuro who took her by the arms and lead her towards the exit. All around them the spiders were whipping into a frenzy, screeching angrily as they threw themselves at the trio. Hinata was surprised that she still had the strength left to break into a run as they rushed over to the exit and scurried through the small opening before the spiders collided with the wall before them.

The mouth of the trench led out to a wide clearing, rimmed by a pine tree forest and broken rubble. All three of them continued running until they reached the edge of the forest before collapsing onto the ground, panting for air. Hinata turned and looked at the trench behind her. She could still hear poundings of the spiders throwing their bodies against the wall on the other side. Hinata looked at her surroundings as panic began to fill up inside her. She was hoping to find Gaara waiting for them on the other side, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no, Gaara is still in there! We have to help him." Hinata got shakily up to her feet and began running towards the mouth of the trench.

"Wait!" Temari grabbed onto her sleeve. "Don't Hinata."

Hinata looked back at her in disbelief. "What do you mean? We can't just leave him in there."

"You don't understand. Its-"

Suddenly the earth began to shake. The tremors grew violent, knocking Hinata and Temari to the ground. Hinata looked at Temari, "What's happening? Is it an earthquake?" but Temari didn't answer, she just stared wide-eyed at the trench. In an instant a massive explosion erupted from the side of the rock face. Hinata covered her head as bits of debris rained down on her. She could hear the spider's screams coming from the newly opened trench; they were screaming in terror before quickly being cut short into silence. She peered through the settling dust and was surprised to see a river of sand flowed out of the open gap, carrying with it thousands of broken spider carcasses. A lone figure walked out of the trench, staring down at the destruction with sullen eyes.

Hinata stared at Gaara in shock. He didn't have a scratch on him, not one! He walked out to the clearing as the sand slither back up to its host and gradually collected back into his gourd. She couldn't believe it, he made it out of there alive, and unharmed, how could he kill so many of them at once? Was he even human?

Gaara approached the three of them with his arms folded across his chest. "Lets get going… we've wasted enough time as it is." Temari and Kankuro silently nodded as Hinata stared on in disbelief. She picked herself up and looked at Kankuro and Temari. Both stared on ahead, refusing to make eye contact with her. As she followed them into the forest, her mind filling up with unanswered questions. _((Something is going on here that the others are hiding form me. I need to find out what soon before something bad happens…))_

End of Chapter 5

A/N: Next chapter- Fortress of Secrets


	6. Chapter 6 : Fortress of Secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

_((…)) _means thought

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 6: Fortress of Secrets

Hinata stared down at a plate of eggs and sausage set out before her. She sat within a humble inn on the edge of a small village, home to local quarry men and miners. After escaping the trench of spiders the squad headed north through the dense wilderness towards the peaking mountains ahead. It wasn't long before they stumbled onto this small village nestled within the summits. The village was small and impoverish, making it a perfect place to pass through without appearing too suspicious. Seeing how the village was far enough away from their destined target without the chance of being spotted by enemy ninja the squad decided to make a quick stop to replenish their provisions before continuing on.

She chewed on a bit of toast as she glanced at Temari and Kankuro who sat across from her. Kankuro was vigorously shoving spoon fulls of food into his mouth while Temari struggled to brush out a few stray pieces of rubble that was tangled within her hair. Gaara decided not to join them this morning, disappearing from the group as they entered the village. It became apparent to Hinata that he didn't like being within the company of other people, not even his own teammates. She looked out through the inn's dust covered windows as the morning sun began peeking over the high gray mountains in the distance. Although she was starting to get use to his odd brooding behavior something within her kept nagging within the depths of her mind.

_((I wonder who is he really? How can a boy no older than myself be stronger than any jonin I have ever seen? And what about that sand? I have not once ever heard of a jutsu that allowed a ninja to control sand the way he does, it's completely bizarre. At times I wonder if he is even powerful enough to rival the great Kages? What could have happened to him to make him so powerful? Naturally inherited gifts perhaps, or could it be something else? I wonder if I could ever become that strong?))_

Across the table Kankuro scrapped up the last few morsels of food off his plate. He glanced at Hinata and noticed her staring off into the distance, deep in thought. He eyed her untouched plate as a sly thought crossed his mind. Slowly he pressed his hand beneath the table and focused his chakra into his palm. Using his puppet mastery he controlled his chakra to travel through the wood grain of the table until reaching the bottom of Hinata's plate. With a quick flick of his wrist he forced one of Hinata's sausages to leap from her plate and land onto his. Although Hinata looked as though she was oblivious to his little act she knew well enough what he did. Her ability to sense the presence of chakra was starting to get stronger and developed more accurately without the aid of her Byakugan. She watched him from the corner of her eye as he popped the sausage into his mouth and chewed happily, proud of his own cleverness. Kankuro blinked when she turned towards him and smiled. "You know, you could of just asked for it Kankuro, if you really wanted it."

Kankuro coughed as his cheeks turned slightly pink when he realized he'd been caught. He scratched the back of his head and began to laugh. "Well… um… what could I say? I just never thought fighting giant spiders would give me such an appetite."

Temari glanced indignantly at her brother. "Speak for yourself," she said while pulling out a large snare in her hair, "It'll take me weeks to get all of this spider crud out of my hair."

Kankuro squinted at Temari's head. "Hmmm… nope, can't tell a difference from what it looked like before." Temari squinted at Kankuro before smacking him with the back of her brush. Kankuro cringed by the blow. "Oww! You don't have to be so touchy Temari!"

"Humph, serves you right smart-ass."

Kankuro rubbed the red lump on his forehead before eyeing Hinata's plate once again. Hinata mentally sighed and pushed her plate over towards him. "Here Kankuro, you can have it… I'm not hungry anyway."

Kankuro's face brightened up. "Really? Well okay then, if you insist." He pulled the plate over to him and attacked her food with vigor. Temari sneered and scooted away from him as bits of food began flying from his plate.

Hinata glanced at them both for a moment. _((It's interesting how those two act so differently whenever Gaara isn't around. They act so carefree and lively, almost as if Gaara's absence lifted a great burden from their shoulders. It's obvious that they know a lot about Gaara, considering how much time they had spent together as a squad but it almost appears as though they are afraid of letting anyone else know about Gaara's secrets, as if the information was somehow deadlier than Gaara himself. Were they, perhaps in their own way trying to protect Gaara? Or could it be their own fear and doubts that kept them so secretive?))_

Hinata traced the rim of her teacup with her forefinger as she looked over at Temari. "Um… Temari? May I ask you something?"

Temari took a sip of her tea. "Hmm?"

"Well… I was wondering… why is everyone so afraid of Gaara?"

Temari sputtered into her cup as Kankuro coughed up the food he was chewing. Hinata watched as they both exchanged glances with one another, neither one of them appearing as though they were going to answer her question but then Temari set her cup down and shot Hinata a serious look. "Now you listen up Hinata, that's none of your business. If you want to be smart then I suggest you keep your questions to yourself and stay out of Gaara's way. He's not the type of person you'd want to cross."

Hinata looked back at her, confusion etched into her face. "But I'm a apart of this team now. Keeping secrets from one another won't help us if we're to survive this mission."

Kankuro frowned at his plate. "Trust me when I say that you do not want to get yourself involved. It's better if you keep your nose out of it, if you know what's good for you." He shoved another spoon full of eggs into his mouth. "In fact, it would be better for us all not to talk about it… just keep your mouth shut and your guard up, that's my suggestion."

Everyone became very silent as Kankuro's words hung in the air. Hinata picked up her teacup and took small sips from it, realizing now that there was no point in distracting any further information from them. Whatever secrets they knew they weren't going to share it with her. _((So they were protecting Gaara… but from what? From everyone else or just from himself?))_ If she was going to find out anything she'll just have to do it herself.

Kankuro finished off the last few bites on his plate before standing up. "Lets get going. No doubt Gaara's waiting for us. Lets grab the stuff we need and head out of here."

* * *

The three of them made their way out of the village around midday, packed with fresh provisions. Hinata glanced at the small stone cottages and shops as she followed Temari and Kankuro through the main road that lead into the surrounding wilderness. They found Gaara waited for them under the shade of an ancient pine tree at the edge of the village.

He frowned as they approached. "What took you so long?"

Temari's shoulders grew tense as she looked at Gaara. She could tell he was in a foul mood. "Um... we're very sorry Gaara. W-we had to go to two different shops to get the supplies we needed…"

"That's no excuse. We should've left 20 minutes ago."

Beads of sweat began to form on Kankuro's brow when Gaara looked over at him. "P-please forgive us Gaara… it won't happen again… promise."

"See that it doesn't." Gaara stood up and walked out from the shadow of the tree. "We aren't making anymore stops until we reach the target. I decided that we'll be infiltrating the fortress tonight, no more delays."

Temari jerked back. "Tonight? Are you sure about that Gaara? Isn't it a bit to soon?" When Gaara shot Temari with a venomous glare she quickly backed down. "Um… right. Sure Gaara, tonight sounds fine."

"Good, then lets get going." Gaara turned and stalked away. Hinata stood back as he passed by her without a word. She was a bit taken aback at the strange light that had appeared in Gaara's eyes. Ever since the spider fight she noticed a certain restlessness within Gaara she had never seen before. Instead of his usual sullen attitude he became suddenly aggressive in his speech and movements, as though something within him had become agitated and unstable. She glanced at the gourd on his back. It jolted and twitched as if something was rolling around inside of it. _((Could it be the sand? Was the sand actually moving independently from Gaara's own free will?))_ Hinata mentally shook herself as she followed the squad out of the village, keeping a safe distance from Gaara and his gourd.

Gaara lead the team down the old path into an old pine forest towards the rising landscape. Already Hinata could make out the steep cliffs that rose out of the horizon. Tonight will be the night they will cross into enemy territory and complete their recovery mission. Hinata only hoped that she was ready for this.

Kankuro looked over his shoulder at the road behind them. "Hey… it looks like we've got ourselves a couple of tag-a-longs," he whispered to the others.

Hinata peek over her shoulder and spotted three large men following them from the village. They wore shabby clothing and had smug grins on their faces. She sharpened her eyes as she studied the three strangers, noting that within their tattered clothing they concealed many weapons. _((They must be road bandits. No ordinary travelers would carry so many weapons.)) _Gaara noticed them as well; the gourd on his back began to twitch even more as if it grew excited. Suddenly three more men jumped out of the forest ahead of them, blocking their path. All six of the bandits circled the group, drawing out swords and other weapons from their belts.

One of the men stepped forward, who apparently was the leader of the group. "Well, well, well… what do we have here? Four little brats who lost their way? How inconvenient…" a few of the bandits laughed at their captives, with their leader laughing the loudest. Hinata slowly began to reach for her kunai knives but was stopped when Kankuro grabbed her arm. She looked up at him questionably but he silently shook his head and looked over at Gaara. Hinata followed his gaze and was shocked to see Gaara's gourd uncork itself as sand began to slither to the floor.

Oblivious to any threat the bandit leader took another step forward and drew out a long sword, pointing it at Gaara. "Alright you little runts, you passed into our territory and for that I'm afraid you'll have to pay a fine. Unpack your belongings and throw them to me or else I'll have to take them by force." He looked over at Temari and Hinata and winked. "It would be a shame to mark up such pretty faces. Now get on your knees and stay still."

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, the look of annoyance spread across his face. "Are you done talking, worm? Your little speech is starting to annoy me."

Anger crossed over the bandit's face. "Why you little bastard! How dared you speak to your betters that way. I guess I'll just have to teach you a little lesson then. If you won't kneel before me by your own will then you'll be kneeling in pieces instead!" The bandit charged at Gaara, thrusting his weapon at his chest. A loud snapping sound filled the air as his sword connected with a hard barrier of sand that shifted in front of Gaara, breaking the steel blade in two. The bandit looked on in horror as the sand dislodge in front of him, pulling the broken weapon from his hands and flinging it into the forest beyond. "Why you little… freak!" He pulled out two more swords from his back and struck at Gaara with all his strength. None of the blows connected as the sand lodged itself between Gaara and the blades. Hinata watched on at the robber's futile attempts to strike Gaara down, unable to believe what she was seeing. The blood lust reflected within Gaara's eyes sent shivers down her spine. _((He's just toying with the man, like a cat playing with a bird with a broken wing. Gaara was actually taking pleasure in his prey's fruitless efforts, knowing all to well that there was no way he would ever come out on top. It was mind-boggling how effortlessly he deflected the blows. It's so unnatural.))_

The bandit gave out a cry in surprise as the sand whipped around his body like a constrictor and incased him within a cocoon of sand, only his face peeked out from his restraint. Gaara stalked over to his struggling captive until he was but an inch away from his face. "You should know before you die… that I kneel to no one," he held his arm out, palm forward, "Bitter crimson tears that flow from lifeless eyes with the endless tides of sand… bestowing ever greater power upon the demon god."

Panic filled the bandit's eyes as he struggled even harder. "W-what are you saying? Please! P-please let me go, I'll do anything!"

The color left Hinata's faces as she stared at Gaara's eyes. She saw no signs of mercy or hope reflected there, only bleak emptiness within his pale blue depths. _((Bitter crimson tears? A demon god? What on earth was he talking about?)) _She stared on as Gaara lifted the screaming man into the air using his enormous amount of chakra.

With a massive strain Gaara clenched his fist, "Sabakusoso! Imploding sand Funeral!"

Hinata had to cover her mouth to prevent the scream from escaping her lips as she watched the man above her being crushed alive by the binding sand. Blood showered around her, staining the ground into a crimson color. The other five bandits shrieked as the blood of their comrade sprinkled onto them. They quickly dropped their weapons and tried to flee into the forest but the sand was to fast for them. One by one the bandits were ensnared in a coat of sand, all crying hysterically.

"Please!" one of them cried out. "We're just poor quarry men… w-we only steal to survive! We weren't going to hurt you, I swear it!"

But his plead didn't have any affect on Gaara. "Save your breath, insolent pest. Anyone who crosses me is dead."

Hinata shut her eyes and covered her ears to try to block out their cries of terror that were cut short as Gaara crushed each of them one by one, silencing them forever. Her heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to tame the fear that began to rise within her, silently cursing herself for not being strong enough to stop his senseless killing. When Hinata looked back up again she found that the four of them were once again alone in the forest. The only signs left of the bandits was dark crimson smudges mixed into the forest floor. In a daze Hinata approached the stained ground and kneeled before it. Its smell was so strong it made her head spin. Hinata tentively stuck her finger out and pressed it against the earth, testing to see whether this was real or just some horrible nightmare. She felt warm moister beneath her finger. Quickly she jerked her hand back as conflicting emotions began to fill her insides. Numbness shrouded her as the shock began to sink in. What right did anyone have to take the lives of others so effortlessly, without any feelings of regret or remorse? Is Gaara truly as monstrous as others claimed him of being? With a heavy heart Hinata stood up and watched as sand glided passed her feet towards its master.

Gaara stood within the carnage as sand circled around him, making its way back into the gourd. His mind became clear as the pressure from his inner demon subsided from his psyche, stated by his offering of human blood. He turned towards the others who stared back at him with pale faces. He looked over at Hinata and was surprised to find sorrow reflecting within her eyes. His chest began to feel tight as her pale moonset eyes bore into his, making him feel awkward by the weight of emotion behind her stare. The feeling annoyed him. Why was she affecting him so? All his life he had lived devoid of all feelings and emotions and yet here he was questioning his own morality because of some Hidden Leaf nobody who stumbled out of the Land of Fire.

Gaara spoke low and dangerously. "Do you have a problem Hinata?"

The bite within Gaara's words made Hinata jump. She glanced at the blood soaked ground. Although her mind was blank, she could hear her own voice speaking out to him. Her words came out barely in a whisper as her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "Why did you have to kill them all? Once they saw your strength they were no longer a threat to you. Why did you feel that they all needed to die?"

Gaara frowned, noticing how she refused to look him in the eye. "I killed them because they were weak. Only the strong have the right to live, the others are just mere pest to this world. Only those who live and fight for themselves are worthy to walk upon this earth. You claim you want to be strong and yet you subside to weak emotions like pity and mercy. A person's worth is judged by their strength and the only way to get stronger is to destroy those who are weaker. A true ninja lives by these principles… unless you accept the truth you'll never be a true ninja."

Hinata watched as Gaara turned away from her and stalked up the forest path. His cold, bitter words stung at her heart. Temari and Kankuro caught her eye, silently pleading with her not to aggravate Gaara any further before turning away and heading up the path. Hinata took one last glance at the discolored ground. The blood was now dry as a gentle breeze blew across the forest floor, covering the stains with dead leaves and bits of debris, erasing any remembrance of the men who died there. _((No Gaara, you're wrong. Destroying the lives of the weak is not what makes you strong, but protecting those who are precious to you… that's what true strength is really made of. I hope someday you might come to see that…))_

* * *

Darkness hung around the squad like a thick drapery as they made their way through the rocky terrain. Keeping close to the shadows they crept along the foot of the rising mountains and climbed up its steep rock face towards the higher ground. The land around them began to flatten out into an ugly plain that was enclosed within large flat-faced cliffs. Hinata followed the others as they crept up a summit of granite that peeked over the rim of the plain. When they got closer to the top they flattened themselves onto the stone and belly-crawled the rest of the way, keeping their heads low until they reached the top. Hinata peered over the edge and stared at her surroundings in awe. Spreading out below her was one of the most menacing fortress she had ever seen. Its surface was completely black and gray, mimicking the stone cliffs from which it was carved. A large thick barricade surrounded the entire body of the fortress was at least ten times the size as the Hyuga estate back in Konoha. Stretching out from the fortress's center was a tall tower armed with cannons and deflective spikes. It was hard to believe that this isolated and haunting fortress was once a home to a noble clan. She silently wondered if the clan suffered from some intense form of paranoia to be able to live in a place like this.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and began to study the fortress more thoroughly. Not only was the fortress very wide but also very deep, spanning levels upon levels of floors buried deep within the earth. She scanned through the first few levels of the fortress hoping to catch a glimpse of the sacred scroll hidden within but there were so many rooms Hinata felt that it would take them ages before they'll be able to find it. As she search something caught her attention, she noticed that she could detect no movement anywhere within the fortress grounds. She could find no squadrons or guards stationed within its barriers. She looked up at the tower; it too had no guard stationed there.

_((How unusual. Where could they all be?))_

She turned towards Temari, "There seems to be no guards stationed on the outer barricade or the tower. In fact it almost looks completely deserted. Could we be at the wrong place?"

Temari squinted at the tower and then back at Hinata. "The academy wouldn't give us false information. Maybe because of its rough location they wouldn't need any guards stationed on it's outer perimeters. Those cowards have probably hidden themselves and the scroll deep within the fortress's core, we'll just have to fish them out."

Hinata glanced wearily at the fortress. "Yes, but even so wouldn't they at least stationed a lookout for enemy ninja?"

Gaara held up his hand to silence them as he stared out at the plain before them. A figure shrouded in a black hood and cape walked out onto the plain and quickly headed towards the fortress gate. Judging by his size and heavy stride Hinata could tell that the figure was a male but couldn't get a clear view of his face. She watched as he approached the barricade entrance and disappeared inside without so much as a whisper.

Gaara silently stood up and skidded down the granite surface to the ground below, careful not to make any sounds. The others followed closely behind in Gaara's stead, keeping close to the cast shadows of the cliffs. Stealthily, they crept to the far side of the battlement wall, which was tall and roughly skewed. With a burst of speed Gaara leapt from the ground and scaled the wall at a full run. Hinata and the others followed after him, focusing their chakra towards their feet as they scaled the defensive barrier. Hinata was actually surprised by how her legs didn't strain against the gravity as she ran up the wall; she actually found it rather easy, almost as if it were second natured to her. _((I guess I have been getting stronger in little doses. Maybe there's hope for me yet.))_

They quickly reached the top and ran across the battlement before leaping over the edge and landing within the inner courtyard. They huddled against the wall for a moment, scanning the area surrounding them. Hinata looked around her, noting how in disrepair the fortress's interior seemed to be. Large piles of rusted scrap metal and wreckage laid everywhere. It's irrigation and electrical systems lay in ruins and the barrack windows and doorways were broken in and rotting out from their frames. The entire fortress itself smelt strongly of dust and mold. It looked as though this fortress had been uninhabited for years.

Temari pointed to one of the top windows of the watchtower within the center of the square. "Look," she whispered, "On the fourth floor. I can see a light coming from that window." True to her word Hinata could see a faint flickering coming from the window in the center of the tower, as if someone had lit a candle.

Kankuro crossed his arms. "Huh… this will be easier than I thought. We must be dealing with a bunch of morons if they gave their possession away so quickly."

Gaara looked at Kankuro. "If they were such morons, then how could they steal the scroll in the first place?"

Kankuro scratched his head. "Um… well… maybe they were just lucky?"

Gaara scowled. "Idiot… For bait to be set out so readily it's obvious that they've set up a trap, meaning that they're already expecting us."

Temari looked at Gaara nervously. "What do you mean they're expecting us? But this was supposed to be an undercover mission. How could they possibly know we were coming?"

Gaara looked back at the estate. "Someone must of head them off about our ambush. It looks as though we have a snake in the grass back at home."

Hinata looked out nervously around her. "Then shouldn't we retreat and plan another mode of attack? What's the point in continuing the mission if we're just walking into an ambush?"

"No… we're not leaving until I find out who's behind this. Anybody who toys with me is dead."

Hinata, Temari and Kankuro exchanged worried looks. "Please Gaara be reasonable," Temari pleaded. "We don't even know how many of them are in there let alone what traps they've set for us. We might not survive if we attack now."

"That means nothing to me. If you're foolish enough to get yourselves killed then that's your own problem. As for me I'm not leaving until I find out the truth." Gaara turned away from them and headed towards the main doors of the tower.

Grudgingly the others followed, more afraid of Gaara's wrath than the potential danger that lay ahead. The tower's thick wooden doors were shaped into a high arch, reminding Hinata of a burial marker. Kankuro had to pry the door open with his kunai knife, breaking through years of rotten wood and rusty hinges. Stale air seeped out of the doorway as he broke through from the dank room within. Hinata looked around her as they entered the tower. Its bottom floor was long and narrow, leading to a large flight of stairs at the back. The room itself was lined with other doorways leading to other parts of the tower. Piles of broken furniture lay scattered throughout the floor as worm-eaten tapestries swayed in the gentle draft like haunting spirits of the clan who died there.

Nothing stirred as they crept across the room. Hinata could feel her own heartbeat pounding within her eardrums. She loosened the shuriken from her belt as she listen intently to the sounds around her. The long space of the room made creaking sounds of the wood panels beneath their feet echo off the walls, making it difficult to hear any sounds that might be coming from the floors above them.

Hinata heard a slight whispering next to the door besides her. She crept towards it and tentively reached for the door's handle. When her fingers touched its rusted surface she felt an unfamiliar warmth emanating from the metal. What happened next caught her completely off guard as the door shifted and burst into a cloud of smoke. In an instant a ninja wearing a black mask appeared before her. _((A substitution jutsu! They've been watching us this whole time!))_. She hastily threw her shuriken at him but he deflected them easily. The ninja swung at Hinata's head but she quickly ducked into him connected her open-faced palm under his jaw line, sending a small but intense burst of her chakra into the depths of his skull. The ninja staggered and fell back onto the floor unconscious. She quickly straitened up looked around her. Twenty other ninja had appeared around them, bursting from the cluttered wreckage scattered around the room. They were all wearing black masks and carrying unsheathed weapons. _((Who could have done this? Why would someone want to head off our enemy?))_

In an instant another ninja charged at Hinata. The big man came at her, tossing a long knife from one hand to the other like an overly confident rogue. Hinata unsheathed her kunai and darted in, knocked the knife flying while it was between his hamlike hands, and jammed the edge of her blade up under his chin, holding him in place. His eyes flickered left. Hinata snapped out a side kick that forced the other ninja sneaking up on her to stumble away, protecting his bruised arm. On both feet again, she hooked the big man's legs and yanked his feet from under him, dumping him onto his back. She jumped and landed on his belly with both knees, knocking the wind from his lungs. A kunoichi threw herself on top of Hinata, who rolled away at the last minute. The kunoichi hit the big man instead, slamming the breath out from her own lungs. Hinata jumped to her feet and looked around for her teammates. Sand whipped around the room as Gaara quickly disposed of those who challenged him. Hinata gasped as a large tentacle of sand burst beneath the floorboards and decapitated a ninja right in front of her. If she was just a feet closer that would have been her head rolling on the floor instead of the enemy's. Quickly she backed herself up against the wall, trying to stay clear of Gaara's deadly attacks.

She looked across the room for Temari and Kankuro. They were on the other side of the room, fighting viciously hand-to-hand with ninja who came at them at all sides. Hinata could see that they were outnumbered and struggling to keep their attackers at bay. For every one ninja they beat down five more would come at them in their place. Suddenly Hinata heard a sickening snap as one of the ninja smashed a steal rod against Kankuro's right arm. Kankuro cried out as he tried to pull the imbedded rod out of his arm while several ninja jumped onto his back.

"Hold on Kankuro!" Hinata cried as she raced across the room. She pulled out her shuriken and was prepared to throw it at his attackers when suddenly someone from behind grabbed onto her hair and brutally yanked back. Hinata cried out in pain as her captor pulled her head back and pressed the tip of his blade against her neck.

"Make one move and I'll slice you from ear to ear," her captor whispered in her ear. Two other ninja came at her sides and took hold of her arms, preventing her from reaching her weapons.

Hinata helplessly looked on as Kankuro was brutally mobbed by the enemy. Temari tried to help her brother but was to overwhelmed by the ninja who attacked her. In an instant Temari was pinned to the floor next to her brother, who was no longer even conscious. She struggled against her captors while cursing and threatening anyone who would listen.

Suddenly a deep laugh echoed form the stairwell in front of them. "Well, well, well…what do we have here? I'm so glad you've decided to join us… Gaara."

Everything became still as a figure shrouded in a black cloak descended down the stairwell. The other ninja immediately refrained from their attack on Gaara as the figure stood before them. Gaara turned towards him and fixed him with a glacial stare. "So the rat behind this mockery of a mission has finally decided to show up… who are you and what do you want with me?"

"I was hoping by now you would've figured it out Gaara. But I guess we can't expect the demon within you to make you smarter let alone more deadlier than any weapon ever known to man. I guess that was wishful thinking on my part."

Hinata blinked as she stared at the man ahead of her._ ((A demon! Is that's Gaara's secret? He's been carrying a demon inside him this whole time? Who in their right mind would do that to someone? Was the Sand village actually serious? What was the Kazakage thinking?))_

Gaara clenched his teeth. "Enough… I'm through playing your worthless game. Now prepare to die."

The man laughed and pulled back his hood. "Come now Gaara, you wouldn't hurt your own instructor would you?"

Hinata and Temari stared on in shock. "Master Baki?!"

Gaara's shoulders stiffened. "What's the meaning of this?"

Master Baki grinned as he pulled out the sacred scroll from his sleeve. "Well to tell you the truth I wasn't planning on doing this until you were a little older but Orochimaru has been getting anxious. He feels that the Kazakage hasn't been using you to your fullest potential, that your talents have been wasted as the Kazakage's own little trump card he keeps in his own back pocket. So Orochimaru has decided to sever his ties with the Village Hidden in the Sand and take you as his rightful property."

Gaara folded his arms across his chest. " There's just one problem with you little plan… I am nobodies property."

Baki sneered. "We had a feeling you would feel that way. You see Orochimaru has felt that the Kazakage has been too lenient with you. Allowing you to travel around freely at your own whim. But Orochimaru knows better, no monstrosity such as yourself should be allowed to have its own free will. That is why we've set up this mission for you, to get you here. Although I must admit that I'm surprised that all four of you made it this far. And here I was hoping we would of lost the others to the spiders. But that means little now, once we use the scroll of sealing we can distract the demon within you and dominate the world. We'll exterminate your teammates later."

Temari struggled under the weight of her captors. "You trader! How can you turn your back on your own people? What are you getting out of this deal?"

"What am I getting out of this deal you ask? Well once Orochimaru becomes the soul ruler of this land as well as the Land of Fire he will be unstoppable! Better to live as a trader than to die as one of the Kazakage's dogs."

Gaara stared coldly at his former instructor. "I have no idea who this Orochimaru is but be sure I'll eliminate him as soon as I done with you. Now I'm staring to get tired of hearing you talk old man… prepare to die." Sand rushed at Baki like a cobra sticking at his prey. Baki leapt from the stairs as the sand barreled into the stairwell, smashing into the rotten wood. The sand rebounded and attacked Baki again but Baki uses his wind sword to slice through Gaara's attack. Seeing his chance Baki untied the scroll and bit a deep wound into his hand. He spread his blood across the scroll, activating the jutsu. "Sealing Scroll! Darkness Concealment Jutsu!" He smashed the scroll to the ground as the ancient symbols flowed out of the scroll and seeped into the floor. Suddenly the ground around Gaara began to glow red as streams of red energy rose from the floorboards and enclosed Gaara within a cage of energy. The sand around him dropped limply to the ground as if the cage was somehow affecting Gaara's chakra control as well as interfered with the demons power. Gaara doubled over holding onto his head as streams of energy seared his skin and cloths. He screamed in pain and anguish as his body began to morph and contract. He could feel the demon waking within him, lusting for blood and carnage.

Hinata watched in horror as Gaara struggled to gain control. But it seemed the more her struggled the more pain reflected in his eyes. Hinata struggled against her captors, "Stop it! What are you doing? You're hurting him!" She frantically tried to thrash herself free while biting at her captor's arms but it was to no avail. The ninja behind her dropped his weapon and grabbed hold of her neck. Hinata felt a painful pressure at the back of her neck that shot into her brain as he pinched one of her central nerves.

Suddenly the world around her went black.

End of Chapter 6

A/N: Next chapter- Depths of the Dark


	7. Chapter 7 : Depths of the Dark

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

_((…)) _means thought

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 7: Depths of the Dark

Hinata ran blindly through the dark. She could see no sign of a way out in any direction: no door, no windows, nothing. Not so much as a sliver of light from the outside world. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she desperately tried to make herself run faster. She could feel something behind her, moving at an alarming rate. She quickly darted to the left and right as she tried to shake it of its pursuit. But no matter where she turned it was always a few steps behind. Its hot breath blew against the skin on the back of her neck.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" she cried out in the dark.

But the only answer she received in return was a deep horrible laughter that reverberated in the space around her. She gritted her teeth as she spun around to face her stalker, hoping to throw him off its deadly hunt. She blinked in surprise as a massive black figure hovered above her only a few yards away, its body shifted and congealed as though it was not completely solid, like that of gravel or sand. Two piercing yellow eyes stared at her through the darkness, burning like hot embers from a fire. Hinata quickly turned and fled from the horrible sight, afraid of being swallowed up in its demonic eyes. A stream of sand shot out from its monstrous body and caught onto her foot, causing her to trip and fall forward. But instead of landing onto solid ground Hinata kept falling into the darkness, her body spun into obscurity as the cynical laughter echoed through her mind. After what seemed like forever her body finally landed with a thud onto soft ground. Slowly Hinata picked herself up as a fouls smell began to travel up her nose and seep into her cloths. She looked around in horror as she noticed that the ground itself was warm and moist. She lifted her hands in front of her face and found a mixture of blood and sand smeared across her palms. She was sitting within a desert of sand and blood! Hinata frantically tried to wipe the blood off of her but the more she wiped the more of the stinky fluid covered her body. Suddenly the ground around her began to change as the sand slithered its way towards her. She tried to fight back but it was no use, the sand slowly began to swallow her from the waist up. She struggled to stay afloat but the harder she tried the faster she sank. The demons head rose up from the sand in front of her. It slithered up to her until it was just but an inch away from her face. A wicked grin spread across its face as she stared on in fright, "_You cannot save him… He belongs to me now,_" it snarled through its wide gapped mouth, "_and you will to… soon enough. Your sweet blood will one day mingle within my endless sands. I wait for that day with great… anticipation."_

The demon laughed again as Hinata began to struggle wildly. "No!" she cried as the sand engulfed her head, returning her to the bleak darkness…

Hinata woke with a jolt. She lay still for a moment as she gasped for breath. With a shaky hand she wiped her sweaty bangs from her face. She blinked as her vision began to focus in the dark. Unfamiliar scenes greeted her as she looked around her surroundings. She was sprawled out on the floor in a small cell of wood and stone; its ceiling and walls were coated in filth and mold. The only light that shown in the room was from a small barred window set up height in the cell's metal door. She stared around her in a confused daze, trying to recall where she was and how she had came to this place. But as her mind cleared so did her memories. She remembered traveling through the desert and crossing into the grasslands. Images of Temari, Kankuro and Gaara floated in and out of her memory. She remembered the spider fight, the stone fortress and Baki's betrayal…

Hinata blinked as panic began to fill inside her chest. _((Gaara! They captured Gaara. And_ _Kankuro was hurt in the fight! How long was I out? What happened to the others?))_ She began to pick herself up but stopped when a sudden dizziness overcame her. She reached up and felt the back of her head. A large swollen knot had formed at the base of her skull, no doubt a gift from one of the ninja who hadn't expected her to put up such a fight. Gritting her teeth she picked herself up once more and carefully dragged herself to one of the near by walls of the cell. Once she was leaning against the wall she looked down at herself to see the full extent of the damage. Despite a few gashes in her arms and legs it looked as though she had suffered no permanent injuries. At least she still had all of her limbs intact. She felt the side of her ribs that were beginning to throb in protest, they were swollen but none felt broken. She noticed that someone had taken it upon himself to confiscate her jacket as well as all of her supplies and weapons while she was unconscious.

_((It looks as though I've left one nightmare and woke up in an entirely new one.))_

A suddle clinking sound caught her attention as she moved her right leg. She looked down and regrettably discovered that her right foot shackled to the floor. She reached down and pulled at the heavy iron chain, which held fast as she tried to yank it from the floor. Hinata dropped the chain in despair as she drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her forehead on her arm as she tried to fight the dread that was rising within her. She remembered hearing stories of ninja who had been captured behind enemy lines, of the torture they had endured as well as the humiliation that was inflicted on them. Most never made it back alive and a few of the lucky ones that did came back were covered in grossly mutilated scares and were mostly driven into madness, reduced to mere shells of the shinobi they once were. Hinata couldn't stop her shoulders from shaking. She could envision her father now, receiving a notice from the Hidden Sand black-operatives of his daughter's untimely death at the hands of the enemy. She could see the disappointment in his eyes at his daughter's disgraceful demise and would offhandedly dismiss her as one of his unfortunate mistakes before turning his attention back to his more prized pupils, Neji and Hanabi.

Hinata squinted her eyes to prevent the tears from flooding onto her face. She felt as though she might start hyperventilating at any moment. In a last attempt to save her poise she bit onto her arm to prevent her mind from wandering into anymore discouraging thoughts, a trick Kiba taught her to help maintain her focus and clam herself down during stressful situations. _((Get a hold of yourself Hinata! It does nobody any good to lose your head at a time like this. Not while there is so much at steak. Think of your teammates. Temari and Kankuro are probably locked up somewhere and Kankuro could be seriously injured! And what about Gaara? They're planning to turn him into a full demon. No person deserves such a fate… not even him)) _Images of Gaara crossed her mind… his brooding personality, his isolated existence but most of all the loneliness that reflected in his eyes. Hinata felt her heart sink within her chest. She knew what it was like to be lonely, to be labeled as an outsider and to never feel truly wanted by anyone, not even your own family. She realized now that his hostile attitude was a way for him to cover up the sadness in his heart, just like the way her shyness did for her. It was easy to never let anyone get too close, to prevent the chance of being hurt again but Hinata realized now that, that was no way to live life. A life could never be whole unless you have others to share it with.

Hinata's brows drew together as images of Baki's smug grin appeared in her minds eye. She felt anger weld up inside her as she remembered his arrogant laugh and his willingness to turn his own students into tools for his own gain. _((Is that what Gaara had to endure his whole life? Being treated as a mere tool by those who should be your friends and guardians?)) _A suddle sparkling on her pant leg caught her eye as she stretched her legs out before her. She looked down and spotted a few grains of sand sticking to the tattered rim of her pants. Her eyes soften as she reached out and touched the granulated sand._ ((Things will be different now. If we get out of this alive I promise to be there for you Gaara, even if you don't want me to. I may not understand everything about you, but I'll do everything in my power to prevent others from hurting you. Even a demon needs a friend from time to time.))_ She balled her hand into a tight fist. She looked at her shackled foot with a new determination shinning in her eyes.

"First thing's first. I have to get out myself out before I can help the others."

She pulled on her shackles once more as the heavy metal lock swung from her ankle. She activated her Byakugan and peered into the lock's inner workings. Her training at the leaf academy taught her many espionage skills, one of which was how to recognize and disengage different types of locks. She noticed how its inner mechanisms were rather old and rusted, something a lock pick could easily dislodge. She looked around her cell, hoping to find a stray piece of wire or scrap of metal that she could use as a pick. Unfortunately the room was completely bare except for a few scattered remains of old cockroach shells.

Hinata frowned in aggravation. _((There's got to be a way out of this! I'm not going to role over and die here like some useless nobody!))_

Frustrated, she slammed her fists against the ground, the rotting wood of the floorboards split under the weight of her blow as a few splinters of wood flew in the air. Hinata removed her hand and looked down as a thin black object peeked over the shattered remains of the floorboard. Carefully, she reached into the splinted wood with her thumb and forefinger and pulled at the object. Her heart leapt with joy as she tugged out a long iron nail from the floor. She worked the nail into the lock, using her special sight to pick through its inner gears until she reached the main spring that maintained the locking mechanism. With one ear cocked for the sound of anyone's approach she steadily picked out the spring that held the lock in place. With a soft click the lock sprang open and the shackle fell from her ankle.

Quietly she stood up and crept to her cell door. She peered past its solid barriers with her Byakugan at the room on the other side. The dungeon beyond was a large circular room that contained at least a dozen cell chambers. She could see the skeletons of former prisoners shackled to the surrounding walls. Hinata mentally shivered, hoping that none of them were her own teammates. She looked around for any signs of the watchmen but couldn't spot any. It appeared that Baki 's confidents was getting a little over the top. She shook her head at his own arrogance. _((One of the most basic ninja principles is to never underestimate you enemies, even when they are within your own custody. He must think that we're no longer a threat to his plans. His overconfidence has made him reckless.)) _Hinata smiled to herself._ ((Well that's one mistake in our favor; we might still have a chance.))_

Hinata worked the nail into the lock of her cell door. When she heard the lock give she slowly pushed the rusty door open and peeked out. One by one she used her special sight to look into the remaining cells for her teammates. Three doors down she spotted Temari huddled up in the corner of a cell. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. She too had been striped of her all of her supplies and weapons.

Hinata quickly ran to her door and picked through the lock. When she opened Temari's cell and quickly rushed over to her. She grabbed hold of Temari's shoulders and gentle shook her. "Temari? Temari it's me Hinata. Are you alright?"

Temari slowly opened her eyes. "Hinata?"

Hinata looked over her body. Black burses streaked across her face and she could see spots of blood seeping through her clothing. "What… what happened to you?"

Temari grunted as Hinata helped her to her feet. She leaned on Hinata for support as she took a moment to regain her balance. "After they captured Gaara they took us to this dungeon. Since you and Kankuro were knocked out they took me into another room for interrogation." Despite her injuries Temari puffed out her chest with pride. "Baki thought he could distract information from me about the Kazakage. But I wouldn't budge, no matter how much torture they inflicted on me. After realizing I wouldn't talk they threw me in here. It's been five days since I last saw anybody." Temari looked questionably over at her. "How did you get out of your cell?"

Hinata grinned at Temari. "I got out by using this," she held up the nail, "A trick they taught us back in the leaf academy. Once I got out it was easy for me to find you. Baki didn't station any guards."

Temari snorted. "That ignorant bastard. Treating us as though we're useless children! He's got some nerve. When I get my strength back I'll hunt his mutinous ass down and take him out myself."

Hinata looked at Temari with a worried expression on her face. "Yes… well first we have to find Kankuro. Do you know where he is? We need to treat his injury before it gets infected."

"Yeah, I saw them throw him in one of the cells across the way. He should still be in there."

Temari and Hinata made their way across the dungeon in search of Kankuro. Hinata squinted through the solid walls and spotted a figure in the cell ahead of her. "There! I think that's him." She picked the cell's lock and pulled the door open. Kankuro was lying face down on the floor. Pieces of the Crow lay around him, completely shattered into a million fragments. Temari quickly rushed over to him and carefully flipped him onto his back. "Kankuro! Kankuro you need to wake up." He didn't move or make any response to her calling. Temari held him in her arms as tears swelled in her eyes. "Please wake up!"

Suddenly his eyes fluttered open. "S-Stop yelling…" Kankuro slowly looked up at Temari. "I… I really feel like shit right now."

Temari grinned down at Kankuro, relieved that her brother was still alive. "Well, you look like shit, you big lump."

Hinata carefully took hold of his broken arm and removed the blood-clotted cloth from his wound. She studied it carefully, looking for any signs of infection. "It doesn't look infected and it seems to be a clean break, I don't see any shattered bone fragments. We'll need to brace it with something so it could heal properly." She searched through the Crow's remains and found a wooden rod and some cloth. " Now hold still while I wrap you up."

Kankuro hissed in pain as Hinata repaired his arm. "Ouch! Careful, it's tender."

"Just hold still and stop acting like a baby," Temari scolded him as she stood up and collected the remaining pieces of Kankuro's broken puppet. "It looks as though you'll have to rebuild the Crow from scratch when we get home. It doesn't look like there is much of him left."

Anger crossed over Kankuro's face. "Humph! If we ever _get_ home. We'll still need to get out of this hellhole in one piece. I say we make a break for it while they still think were locked up in our cells."

Temari looked around their dank surroundings. "That's not a bad idea. The sooner we get out of here the better."

A shadow crossed over Hinata's face as she worked on Kankuro's arm. "No… I'm not leaving yet."

Temari and Kankuro both looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean you're not leaving yet? Have you completely lost your mind?"

"I'm not leaving here without Gaara. We can't abandon him."

Temari looked at Hinata as sadness reflected in her eyes. "Hinata… I know this might be hard for you to accept but Gaara is not completely human, he never was. As far as we know Gaara could be a full demon by now. If we find him he wouldn't recognize us, most likely he would even kill us. It will be better to leave now to warn the Kazakage before they use his power to attack the village. "

Hinata looked up as strong emotions began filling inside her. "We don't know that for sure. You know as well as I do that Gaara is strong let alone stubborn as a rock. He could still be fighting them." She stood up and looked at the dungeons exit. "But I understand your concern, the sand village needs to know about the upcoming attack. Kankuro won't be able to fight with his broken arm and he'll need help to get out of here. Temari, you and Kankuro should get out of here while you can, I'll stay behind and look for Gaara. Wait for us at the quarry village for a day. If we don't show up then you should go ahead and leave without us to warn the village."

Temari's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Hinata, are you… are you sure about this? You're going to stay behind all by yourself?"

Hinata took a deep breath, hoping to draw up enough courage within her before answering. "Yes, I'm staying behind because… because I feel I need to."

Temari looked at Hinata as though she was seeing her for the first time. She never expected to see such fierceness coming from such a shy girl. Temari reached out and put her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "You know kid, the first time I saw you I didn't think you had it in you to be a true ninja. But I guess I was wrong, who knew that a shy genin from the leaf village would have the guts to face off with a full fledge demon." She gave Hinata a sly wink. "You must really like him."

Hinata's face turned a beet-red. "What? No! I don't… _like_ him like him. I-I just think it's wrong what they are doing to him… that's all."

"Uh-huh," Temari said with an all-knowing smile. She reached down and helped Kankuro get to his feet, wrapping his good arm around her shoulder for support. "Alright then, we'll be waiting for you at the quarry village. Good luck and be careful."

Hinata nodded. "I will."

* * *

Keeping close to the shadows Hinata crept up the winding stairway from the dungeon and found herself back on ground level. It was the beginning of dusk as the sky was just turning into a deep violet color. She looked out at her surroundings. The dungeon was situated on the far end of the fortress, backed against the stone rock face of the cliff. Ahead of her she could see the main house of the estate, which took up most of the fortress and beyond that the tower where they had been captured. Behind her she could her the scuffling of Temari and Kankuro's footsteps as they followed her up the stairs.

She turned towards them when they reached the top. She was nervous but tried to keep a striate face in front of them. "This is where we must part. You guys should stay close to the barracks until it's dark enough for you to leave without being spotted. I'll head towards the main house, that's where they're most likely keeping Gaara. Remember if we don't show up within a day leave without us. You guys be careful, alright."

Kankuro snorted. "You're the one sneaking into a guard infested fortress with a potential demon lurking inside and you're telling _us_ to be careful? You sure are one strange genin."

Despite her nervousness Hinata couldn't help but smile. "I'll take that as a complement. Good-bye you two." She turned away from them and fled into the growing shadows. _((I hope we'll see each other again…))_

When she got closer to the estate she ducked behind some overgrown shrubs and peeked out at its back entrance. Two hooded guards stood before the door, both wearing long swords. Hinata took a deep breath to calm her rapidly beating heart. _((Well, sneaking in through the back door is defiantly out of the picture and there are probably twice as many guards in the front.))_ Just then something on the estate's second landing caught her attention. On the far corner of the floor she spotted a tattered drapery lazily swaying out of a hollowed out window frame. The skeleton of an ancient tree grew up the length of its wall; one of its branches stretched close enough to the window for her to reach through. Keeping low to the ground she crawled her way through the underbrush, keeping as quiet as possible. When she reached the base of the tree she carefully gripped onto its rough surface and began to pull herself up. Suddenly one of the guards looked over in her direction. Hinata froze in place, praying that her dark clothing and the shadow of the tree concealed her from his view.

"What is it?" she heard one of the guards ask the other.

"I thought I saw a shadow, just over there." Hinata quickly pressed herself to the tree when he took a step in her direction.

The other guard looked at his partner nervously. "Hey, you don't think it might be a ghost do you? I heard the unsettled spirits of the clan who once lived here still walk these grounds."

"Don't be ridiculous! This place isn't haunted!" But as he said that a cold gust of wind brushed past him, making the ancient tree sway and give off an eerie whining sound. The guard immediately backed up and returned to his post. "Uh well… that was probably just a squirrel anyway."

Hinata let out her breath in relief. She scaled the tree as quickly as she can while glancing nervously at the guards to make sure they didn't spot her again. When she reached the branch she cautiously tested it out with her foot to make sure it would support her weight. Satisfied that the branch would hold she quickly dashed across the branch and jumped through the window's opening.

Once inside she pressed herself against the wall and crept down the long passageway. Keeping close to the darkest shadows she activated her Byakugan and began scanning the fortress from top to bottom. Most of the guards were stationed on the estates outer perimeters as well as the roof. She noticed that there seemed to be a lot of activity around what looked like the estate's old library on the bottom floor. She focused her Byakugan intensely on the room until she could see it with more clarity. She noticed a small passage way concealed within the back of the library. It headed below ground and was omitting some strange chakra signatures, like runoff from some powerful force.

_((That's where they must be keeping Gaara...))_

Hinata sprinted from one shadow to another as she made her way down towards the bottom floor. Her small stature allowed her to hide behind broken furniture and tattered tapestries as guardsmen patrolled the floor. She thought it was ironic that she used to be bothered by the fact that nobody seemed to ever notice her presents, but now she felt her disadvantage was a blessing in disguise. When she finally made it to the library's entrance she crouched behind a tall banister as two guards passed by. She held her breath and waited for the sounds of the guard's footsteps to fade as they reached the end of the hall. Without a second thought Hinata dashed from her hiding place and ran through the library's doors as the guards turned the corner.

Hinata quietly closed the doors behind her and looked around the large chamber. The entire area was cluttered with old scrolls and maps piled upon dusty desks and shelves. Quickly she went to the back wall, towards the hidden entrance. She peeked past a large shelf at the stairwell that lead down to a dark passageway. Cautiously she made her way to the mouth of the entrance. The darkness was so thick that she could barely see the first few steps that lead to the floor below. She was about to make her way down when the sound of footsteps echoed up the stairwell before her. Sudden, irrational panic seized her. If they caught her now she was as good as dead. Quickly she retreated back into the library. The chamber itself was comprised of several cluttered rooms. In hast she chose a doorway at random and ran. A second later two men walked out from the stairwell. Hinata, wide-eyed found herself in a small antechamber that looked as though it was used as storage room. There was no other doorways except the one through which she had come. Clutching at the only hope of concealment she had, she slipped behind a large stack of dusty scrolls at the back of the room. She curled herself into a tiny ball and listened intently to the others who entered the library.

"Damn it Kabuto! Tell him we need more time! We can't rush these things!"

Hinata heard Baki's voice shout at the other man. She peeked over the rim of scrolls at the two men that stood within the center of the library. The one called Kabuto looked a lot younger than Baki but appeared more confident than his counterpart. He smirked as he pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose. "We've already given you a week Baki. You know as well as I do that Orochimaru is not a patient man. He expects you to deliver him his demon within a fortnight… no exceptions."

"But the boy is still resisting the transformation. We've even placed a chakra restraint on him. If we put any more pressure on the kid the seal could break and we could lose control of the demon entirely! If that happened then not even Orochimaru could control him. He would become an unstoppable killing machine with an endless thirst for blood and carnage!"

A strange light appeared within Kabuto's eyes, making it appeared as though the thought actually excited him. He folded his arms over his chest. "Huh… I'm surprised to find that you have such little faith in Orochimaru's abilities."

Baki staggered back. "No! I-I don't. It's just that the risk is too great. And since Orochimaru isn't here at the moment the greater the risk would be if we lost control of him now."

A wide grin spread across Kabuto's face. "Well, I'm afraid that you caught yourself in a rather nasty bind my friend. Either risk the wrath of a feral demon now or risk the wrath of Orochimaru when he returns to find you haven't fulfilled your part of the bargain. I recommend you pick the demon's wrath, at least you'll know it would be a quick death. Now you know what you have to do so I suggest you stop wasting your time with excuses and get the job done." Kabuto turned and looked around the library. "Now what about the stone clan's Scroll of Secrets? Have you found it yet?

"Not yet. The clan hid it well when they were overthrown during the last civil war. It could be anywhere within the fortress."

"Well look harder! The information within that scroll could be a great asset to us. Its power could match even the most deadliest of demons. Its essential that you find it."

Baki gulped. "Yes, I understand."

"Good, now I must be off. When I return the demon problem better be taken care of or else it will be your neck Baki." Kabuto turned and left the library.

"Kabuto wait! Can't we compromise?" Baki shouted at Kabuto as he followed him out of the library.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief as she wiped the sweat from her brow. _((T-that was a close one.))_ She began to move from her hiding spot when something brushed against her arm and fell onto the floor. She looked down and saw a small, tightly rolled scroll roll out in front of her. Unlike the others that were made of ordinary white paper this one was made in dark blue paper and was no bigger than the size of her hand. Tentively she picked it up and read the silver characters embossed on its outer seal_. ((Dark Chakra… That's odd. I never heard of such a thing.))_ As she stared at the small scroll within her hand it almost appeared as though it was omitting a faint violet glow. She looked around her to see where it might of come from but all that was around her were large bulky scrolls containing political and geological information. _((Well it certainly looks out of place here. Perhaps the clan who lived here before hid it in here before their demise.))_ Something inside her told her that she shouldn't leave it here where Baki might be able to find it. If it contained some dangerous information then most likely Baki or Orochimaru will us it in their attack on the Land of Wind and Fire. Hinata slipped the scroll into her pant pocket and left her hiding place. She returned to the passageway and peered down its dark depth a shiver ran up her spine. There was not telling what she would find when she reached the bottom. Gaara could be some irate beast ready to pounce on her as soon as she entered the bottom level and swallow her whole.

Hinata mentally shook herself. _((I made it this far, no use backing out now. Whatever happens happens. I'll just have to let fate guide me…)) _She straitened her shoulders and took a deep breath as she descended the stairway into the shadows below.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8 :Trust

And no… I do not own any Naruto characters.

_((…)) means thought_

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 8: Trust

Gaara sat within the corner of his dark cell. His head bent down to his chest as he leaned lifelessly against the wall's cold stone. The only sound that could be heard was his low, labored breaths, as if breathing itself was an agony to him. He felt nothing but pain… pain and rage. He felt as though something was breaking within him, his inner barriers that kept the demon at bay seemed thinner and more brittle than ever before. His soul was chained to a body that had no ambiance and no mortal pangs, just utter emptiness. Yet he found that his spirit was consumed with hatred and despair. His temples pounded against his skull as if something was trying to beat its way out with mallets. The gourd that contained his demonic sands jolted and trembled in agitation. He could feel the demon shifting within him as a dismantling tremor shook his limbs and body.

"_Your struggle to resist me is in vain Gaara…_" the demon whispered within his mind. "_Are you ashamed to let out your true nature? Your real self?_"

"Shut up…" Gaara felt drained and exhausted, as if the demon itself was sucking the life from him.

The demon laughed. "_I can feel it within you… your lust for revenge. It's growing within you with each passing minute. Embrace it Gaara! Together we can destroy all who defy you. Let their blood soak the ground in an endless sea of red. Take revenge on those who did this to you… and those who abandoned you here…_"

Gaara closed his eyes and balled his hands up into tight fists. The demon felt his anger increase and continued on. _"Is that defiance I feel? Huh, you stupid boy… why do you fight the enviable? You were born to be a tool of destruction and nothing more. Besides, what would you gain if you were to escape from this place? Nobody will be waiting for you when you return home. Are you that eager to return to a family who never loved you and a village who despise your very existence? Is it not your birthright to destroy all of those who had caused you so much pain? Even the gentle hearted Hinata couldn't stand to be near you. Wouldn't it be nice to add her sweet blood within our endless sands, so that she could never leave us again?"_

"I said shut up!" Gaara clenched his teeth and tried to drive the demon's voice from his mind. But as he began to raise his chakra level a strange heat began to radiate around his head. Suddenly a painful shock of energy raced through his body. Gaara cried out and fell onto his side as the negative power seared through his skin and muscles. He laid on the floor and gasped for air as his body convulsed against the pain. It only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to make him nearly lose consciousness. Slowly he reached up and felt a thick metal strap encircling his forehead. His fingers traced around his singed hair and felt strange symbols engraved within the warm metal. It was a chakra restraint, he had heard of them before. They were used on prisoners of war to deplete their chakra supply, making them weak by interfering with their chakra flow.

Gaara cursed his former instructor. _((Baki must have rigged the thing to shock whoever's chakra it comes in contact with… damn him!)) _

In frustration Gaara grabbed at the band and tried to yank it from his head. His body shuttered from the stress of the shocks that flowed over his body but the restraint held tight. Not able to take any more pain Gaara released the ring and rolled over onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling as the smell of singed hair reached his nose. Inside his mind he could hear the sound of the demon's laughter echoing within his skull. He closed his eyes and was lost to the utter emptiness he felt within himself.

Just then a small sound caught his attention through the darkness. A soft clicking sound came from the other side of his cell door. He glanced at the door for a moment, expecting to see Baki walk through with some sort of new torturing device. Gaara let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes again. _((Let them come… I don't care any more. Maybe once the demon has completely taken over my soul I might finally be released from my pain…))_ The door opened and closed heard light footstep trek across the floor and stop a foot or so away to him.

"Gaara?"

Gaara's eyes flew open and looked up in shock when he recognized her soft voice. "Hinata?"

She kneeled before him, peering at him with worried filled eyes. "Gaara, are you okay? What happened to you?" She reached out to touch him but he quickly sat up and backed away from her. The look in his eyes was fierce, like an animal who had been coiled up within a too small of cage.

He backed far enough away from her until his back touched the wall. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

Hinata felt hurt by his cold reaction to her. She could see that he was in pain but the feral demon within him seemed to make him more unruly than ever. She wearily eyed the gourd in the corner of the room that aggressively quivered in place. Hinata quickly looked away from the scary thing and back at Gaara. "Gaara, I'm here to help you. We need to get out of here before they get back." She held her hand out to him hoping that he would take it.

Gaara studied her for a moment, looking from her hand back to her face. Hinata began to feel nervous by the strange light that appeared in his eyes. She silently wondered if he was seeing her as a friend or potential prey.

Suddenly he spoke. "Why? Why should you care what happens to me?" his voiced came out more as a growl than actual speech, making Hinata's hairs on the back of her neck prickle.

She thought frantically of the right words to say but ended up blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. "Um… well I- because I do care."

They stared at each other for a moment as her words hung in the air between them. Unconsciously she began to fidget with her fingers. She could feel her face flush in the dark as she quickly tried to think of something to cover up the awkward silence. "Uh… well I mean that we're … um teammates and… teammates should always help each other out." She held her hand out to him again. "Now let's go. Baki could be back at any moment. Please Gaara… trust me."

Gaara looked at her for a moment. His numb chest felt strange as a new emotion began to flood his insides, filling the void within his chest like a summer breeze. He'd never felt anything like it before. Momentarily he actually wanted to take her hand, just to feel what it would be like to touch another person who didn't cower away from him in fear. To hold her close and savor the feeling of her softness. But then the memory of the demon's words echoed within his mind. "_Wouldn't it be nice to add her sweet blood within our endless sands, so that she could never leave us again?"_ A shadow crossed over Gaara's face when he realized that he would never be able to enjoy such simple pleasures, not now… not ever. He folded his arms across his chest and looked away from her. "You've wasted your time coming here. It no longer matters to me whether I live or die. I'm sick and tired of living out this mockery of a life. I suggest you leave now, before it's to late."

Hinata felt a painful pang inside her heart as Gaara looked away from her. For a moment there she thought she saw a glimmer of hope within his pale blue eyes but it was quickly smothered away by the sound of despair within his voice. "Gaara… listen to me. I-I understand how you feel, about everything."

Gaara turned towards her with anger etched across his face. "No you don't! How can you possibly underst-" Gaara was suddenly cut short by a painful cry as the metal ring around his head released a deadly bolt of energy through his body. In his anger he lost control of his chakra, causing the restraint to react. He fell forward, clenching his head until the pain subsided.

Hinata quickly stood up. "Gaara!"

"I said leave… now…" he wheezed through his crushed lungs.

"It's that thing on your head, isn't it? It's preventing you from using your chakra to escape." She reached for his head. "Here, let me try to get it off you."

Gaara hit her hands away. "I said leave me alone!"

Hinata stood back for a moment, frustrated by his stubbornness. "No…"

Gaara looked up at her in surprise. "What do you mean No? I told you to leave now or else I'll kill you myself!"

But Hinata was unfazed by his threat. "Then I guess we're both dieing here today because I'm not leaving!" A fierce light reflected within the depths of her pale eyes. "Sometimes in life you have to trust others Gaara, even if it risks getting hurt. Life is not worth living if you don't take risks and right now I'm taking that risk whether you like it or not." Before he could respond Hinata quickly rushed over to him and grabbed onto the metal ring on his head. Immediately the ring began to react once it sensed her chakra, sending streams of painful energy up the lengths of her arms. Hinata pulled as she released more of her chakra into her arms, hoping that she might overload the restraint and somehow break it off.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Gaara tried to push her away but she held on tight, determined to get the thing off of him.

Hinata had never felt so much pain before in her life. Her heart felt as though it might burst from the stress of the bolts running through her body. Lights flashed past her eyes as large bolts of energy shot out all around them. The ring was glowing white hot from the amount of chakra she was pouring into it. The more chakra she released into the restraint the more pain she received in return. The flesh of her hands and arms were burning away as she pulled desperately at the ring. _((Hold on… just hold on and don't let go_…)) she repeated to herself as the searing pain shot into her head. Tears poured down her face as she released one last burst of her chakra into the ring. Suddenly a loud cracking sound filled the air as the ring snapped in two from Gaara's head. The force of the energy sent Hinata flying backwards. She collided into the wall on the other side of the room and landed in a heap on the ground.

Both of them lay motionless on the ground as the last few streams of energy evaporated away. Grudgingly, Gaara slowly picked himself up and looked around. The metal ring rested before him in two broken pieces, still glowing with hot heat. He reached up and rubbed his forehead. He glanced over at the gourd, which sat still in the corner of the room, returning once again into an inanimate object. He could hear the demon within him viciously cursing as Gaara's inner barriers reinforced themselves, locking the demon back within its human vessel. Gaara felt his strength returning from its dormant state. Slowly he picked himself off the ground. His whole body felt lighter as if a great pressure was lifted from his whole being, making him feel lively and invigorated.

_((I'm… I'm free. She actually did it…))_ He looked over at Hinata who lay motionless next to the wall.

"Hinata?"

She didn't answer him. Gaara frowned when he noticed the dark smudges on the ground trailing up to her still body. The smell of burn flesh reached his nose as he made his way over to her. Slowly he leaned over her seemingly lifeless form until he was right above her. Her eyes were closed as trails of tears lined her dust-covered face. His eyes traveled down the length of her body, never before had he been this close to another person to take in so much detail of their form. When Gaara's eyes fell upon her limp arms he jerked back in shock. Angry red scorch marked traveled up the lengths of her arms all the way to her pale shoulders. The skin on Hinata's hands was all but burned off, leaving nothing but large red welts and sores. Gaara stared at her in shock. As far as he could remember he had received nothing from others except hatred and pain, only being wanted as a mere tool for their own gain. That was his life. And yet this pale girl from the Land of Fire willingly sacrificed herself to relieve him of his pain, with wanting nothing in return except his safety. And for that she will forever now have to carry those scares of pain wherever she goes, for a battle that wasn't even her own.

Slowly Gaara reached out and touched the base of her neck. He was surprised to find that he felt relief spread throughout his body when a weak but steady pulse reached his fingertips. His years of isolation had taught him to enjoy death rather than life and yet something inside him told him that her death would bring him more pain than any amount of torture ever could. His hand left her neck and traveled down the length of her arm to her small hand. His brow drew together as he felt the rough scare tissue that began to form on her arms and delicate fingers. Moments ago she had offered this same hand to him in a gesture of trust. But now those soft, comforting hands were ruined thanks to him.

Gaara closed his eyes. _((No… thanks to Baki and his twisted plots.))_

Gaara felt anger bubbling up inside of him. It wasn't the usual anger he felt, no, it was a wrathful anger fueled by an emotion he could not yet describe. He wanted death and blood, not to appease the will of the demon inside him, but for his own thirst for revenge. Gaara gently place Hinata's hand onto her chest and went over to the corner of the room where his gourd lay. Strapping it onto his back he once again felt the weight of the demon's power engulf him. If Baki wanted to feel the power of a demon then Gaara was going to make sure he felt it… all of it. He looked back at Hinata's still form. For a moment he could hear the demon snickering within him. "_Leave her… she'll only get in our way. It will be a to great a risk to drag her along. She has served her purpose."_ But as Gaara glanced back in her direction a strong possessive feeling overcame him. Her soft features seemed so fragile in the darkness and yet the boldness that reflected from her eyes whenever she looked at him sent a thrill through his body he had never experienced before, not even when he was destroying his enemies.

He could her words echoing through his memory. _((…sometimes you have to trust others Gaara, even if it risks getting hurt. Life is not worth living if you don't take risks and right now I'm taking that risk whether you like it or not…)) _

Risking your life for another… the concept never seemed real to him. He had heard stories of heroic ninja risking their lives for the safety of their village and the ones they loved, but the stories always seemed like distant fables to him. No real person would risk their life for another… for him. And yet there she was, lying on the dirt floor within the deepest pit of hell for him. She risked everything for his safety… was he willing to do the same for her?

Deep from somewhere within him his tormented soul already knew the answer… yes.

Ignoring his inner demon's groans of protest Gaara returned to Hinata and gently lifted her into his arms, marveling at light she felt against him. Her head lay limply on his chest as she rested within him like a rag doll. He stood there for a moment and enjoyed the sensation of her warmth against him, just long enough so the memory could sink in, just incase she woke up and never wanted to touch him again. He looked down at her burnt arms once more. He could feel the demon perking up inside him when it felt his anger rising. A dark look appeared in Gaara's eyes. "I think it's time we give our old instructor a visit…"

"_Indeed…"_ sneered the demon.

Holding Hinata close he headed out of the cell with a fierce determination in his step. God help anyone who got in his way.

* * *

Baki stared out at the desolate landscape from the upper floor of the fortress's lookout tower. His hands clenched to his sides as he fought the rising panic within him. _((Damn that Kabuto! And damn that Orochimaru too! How could they both expect me to extract the demon from Gaara with little less than a fortnight? They make it sound as though it was as easy as taking candy from a baby. They're both completely nuts!))_ Unable to keep still Baki began to pace within the small room. _((I've got to find a way out of this. It's gotten to big now. Not only is Orochimaru getting anxious but also now I've heard that the Kazakage is starting to get suspicious of Gaara's absents. He might start a full fledge investigation, meaning that the sand village secret black operatives will get involved. If only he can get the demons power then all his problems would be solved!))_ Frustrated, Baki slammed his fist into the wall. "That little brat! There's got to be a way to break him!"

Just then a staticy voice spoke to him from the communicator within his ear. "Master Baki?"

Baki gritted his teeth and pressed the communicator in his ear. "What is it?" Baki snapped, angered by the interruption. "I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to be bothered!"

"F-forgive me Master Baki but… but the three prisoners have escaped."

Baki's shoulders stiffened. "What do you mean they've escaped?" How is that possible?"

"I-I don't know sir. Several of our operatives just went to the dungeons to check up on the prisoners and found their cells empty. We can't find any traces of them at all."

Baki stood within the center of the room as rage began to fill his insides. _((This can't be happening. How could those three snot-nosed brats escape? They're only genin for crying out loud!))_

The ninja on the other end began to get anxious by his leader's silence. "Um, sir? What shall I have our men do?"

"Go find them of course!" Baki snarled. "Search the grounds and the surrounding areas. They couldn't of gotten very far."

"Yes sir."

"And have some of the men met me at the estate's main entrance. I don't care how many it kills this time. We're drawing out the demon tonight."

Baki could hear the other ninja's voice waver on the other end. "Uh… R-right. I understand sir."

Baki quickly ended the transmission and headed down the steps to the ground floor. Blood pounded in his head as he tried to focus on the task at hand. _((Now that those pests gotten out they're probably heading striate to the village to warn the Kazakage. I have no choice but to draw out the demon tonight. I can't delay this any longer.))_ Unconsciously he gripped the sand village's scroll of sealing he kept within his jacket. _((Even if it means breaking the seal and having a rampaging demon on my hands...))_

Suddenly the ground beneath him shook violently. He had to grab hold to the stair railing or else risk tumbling the rest of the way down. He pressed the communicator in his ear. "What was that? Somebody give me a report!"

"Sir! It got out! It-ahhhhh…"

Baki pressed the communicator again. "What was that? Answer me damn it!" But all he could hear were cries of terror in the background. Baki cursed as he ran to the bottom floor and out of the tower's entrance. He stumbled to a halt at the sight before him. The entire fortress was shaking itself apart. Baki turned as he heard an explosion coming from the estate's main house. In an instant Baki felt all of the air leave his lungs as sheer panic seized him.

"What the hell?"

The entire front entrance of the main house was reduced to nothing more that a large gapping hole. Large arms of sand extended from its shattered remains, whipping around like an angry octopus and crushing everything around it. Still corpses of his men lay scattered before Baki's feet in a bloody battlefield as a few of the remaining survivors fled for their lives. A powerful force that seemed to succumb all around them pushed everything and everyone back. Two red-hot eyes glowed from the center of the dark hole as visible red chakra swirled around it, forming distinctly into a giant claw that slashed a few close victims into pieces. Satisfied with the carnage the giant claw retreated back into its host, revealing a furious Gaara at the broken entrance. Gaara's eyes scanned the surrounding area until his eyes landed on Baki himself. Gaara's face spread into a sadistic grin once he spotted Baki, making Baki freeze in place. _((No! H-how can this be? How could he- it escape?)) _He looked down at the limp object Gaara was holding and blinked in shock. _((The… the Hyuga heir?))_

Faster than Baki's eyes could follow Gaara appeared before him in a wave of sand. Baki stepped back in surprise and held his hands out before him. The lines within Gaara's face enhanced his evil appearance, making him truly a creature of nightmares. Baki felt his throat go dry as he tried to force the words past his lips. "H-how is this possible? How did you get out?" His eyes glanced at Hinata. "And what is that little _weakling_ doing here?"

Gaara instinctively gripped Hinata closer to him. He spoke low and dangerously as an intense red light appeared within his pale blue eyes. "I wouldn't talk about her that way if I were you. For she did something that you never could… she tamed a demon. And… she is the reason you will never see the light of day ever again."

Baki slowly backed away from him while cautiously reaching for the sealing scroll within his jacket. "N-now Gaara, lets be reasonable… I-I was only doing this for your own good. I wanted to help you. I was only trying to release you from your pain."

A low laugh rumbled from Gaara's chest when he noticed the fear reflecting in his eyes. "Why do you seem so frighten Master Baki? Isn't this what you wanted? A demon's power? You should be thrilled, for that's what you'll be getting. _Every… last… bit of it_! "

In a heartbeat sand rushed at Baki at an unfathomable speed. Baki quickly pulled the scroll from his jacket to activate the jutsu but wasn't quick enough. Gaara's eyes flashed as a stream of sand whipped out and engulfed Baki's arm, scroll and all. Snapping sounds filled the air as the sand tightened its hold, crushing all the bones and muscles up the length of his arm. Baki cried in pain and tried to cut through the sand with his wind sword, but it was no use. More sand rushed up to him, constricting the rest of his body. Suddenly Gaara's face appeared in the sand hovering in front of him. The eyes within it's sockets were not those of Gaara's but the piercing yellow embers of the demon's itself. The demon smiled into Baki's panic filled eyes. _"I've been waiting for you, Master Baki…welcome to my sands of pain…"_

"N-no!" Baki struggled wildly as the sand slowly began crushing him from the feet up. He screamed as unimaginable amounts of pain rushed through his body. He looked back wide eyed at Hinata in Gaara's arms as the sand slowly engulfed his head. _((She… she tamed a demon…b-but how? No human could possibly tame a demon!))_ Baki looked back up at Gaara one last time. "H-how is this possible?" But he never received an answer for the sand seeped up his face and cast him into an eternity of darkness.

* * *

Temari paced back and forth in front of the quarry village's entrance while sending nervous glances in the direction of the fortress. Her eyes scanned the road leading through the forest, hoping to spot any signs of approaching figures through the darkness. Kankuro rested against the outer gate and watched for any movements coming from the wilderness beyond. He looked up at the sky and noticed it was already getting late. Hinata's hours were up.

He cleared his throat. "Um… Temari? I think it's time we should go. I don't think they're coming…"

"Not yet! They still got time," she snarled as she continued to pace.

Kankuro let out a tired sigh. Despite his sister's hard words he knew that she was breaking up inside. Temari was tough, the toughest kunoichi he's ever known but he also knows she has a kind heart beneath her rough exterior. "Listen… I know you're worried about them but we need to leave now. The village needs to know about the approaching danger."

Temari's shoulders drooped. "I… I know Kankuro. But just give me five more minutes at least. Just five."

Kankuro stood silently next to her. "Sure…"

They both stood still and faced the dark forest. Temari wrapped her arms around herself as a chilly wind blew at them from the north. _((Come on Hinata…)) _she silently pleaded._ ((We can't wait much longer…))_

Just then they heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind them. Temari and Kankuro turned in annoyance, thinking that it was just some nosy villager who did not have enough sense to mind their own business but was surprised to find four hooded figures standing before them instead. All four were dressed entirely in black and wore intricately painted masks, concealing their identities.

Temari eyed them wearily. "May I help you with something?"

One of the figures stepped forward and bowed. "Excuse us for our intrusion, but we are looking for a man from the Land of Wind. We are wondering if you might have seen him?" He reached into his cloak and held out a picture. Temari and Kankuro both jerked back in shock. The picture he held before them was none other than their former instructor, Master Baki.

Temari blinked when she realized whom these four strangers were. "You… you're the sand village's secret service. The black operatives."

The masked man nodded. "Yes we are. And am I correct to assume that you are from one of his elite squadrons? Squad 13?"

"Yes! Err… um, we were until he tricked us into going on this bogus mission and nearly killing us all."

The masked man nodded. "Yes… we have received word that Master Baki had suspiciously appointed his students with unauthorized assignments. The Kazakage sent us here to investigate. We are glad that we have found you before it was too late. Now please tell us the whereabouts of your former instructor so that we may take him in for questioning."

"Baki is dead…" an impassive voice spoke out from the forest. Everyone turned and stared at the person who stepped out from the shadows.

Temari's face lit up when she recognized her brother's familiar brooding face. "Gaara! You're alive… but where's-?" She gasped as she looked at the lifeless figure he held within his arms. "Hinata! What happened to her? Look at her arms! Is she…?"

"She will live…" Gaara answered as he looked down on Hinata's sleeping form.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow when he glanced at Gaara possessively holding onto the unconscious girl. "Uh… so you carried her all the way here?"

Gaara blinked as a suddle flushness appeared on his cheeks. He frowned up at Kankuro, feeling awkward by his question. "Yes I did… You got a problem with that?"

Kankuro's face paled. "Nope! Not at all," he held up his good hand and immediately backed off, totally bewildered by his brother's sudden mood swing.

Temari tried to hide her smile at Gaara's sudden defensive attitude. _((So it looks as though she got to him after all. This could get very interesting…))_

One of the sand operatives cleared his throat to draw back their attention. "Excuse me. But what do you mean Baki is dead. How do you know for sure?"

"Because I killed him myself."

The four sand operatives looked at each other in surprise. "But what about the sacred scroll?"

"I destroyed it along with the rest of the fortress. I made sure nothing was left. Now no more questions, we'll explain everything in our reports when we get back." He looked down at Hinata as he noticed her shivering from the cold night air. "Lets get home…"

End of Chapter 8


End file.
